Bomb squad investigates van left in Times Square
NEW YORK — A suspicious white van parked in the heart of Times Square with tinted windows, no license plates and a bogus law enforcement placard on the windshield prompted the NYPD to evacuate high-rises and send out bomb squads the day before New Year’s Eve.
The van was seen by patrol officers around 11 a.m. Wednesday on Broadway between 41st and 42nd Streets, and counterterrorism and bomb squad crews responded. The area has been blocked off and two high-rise buildings home to Nasdaq and Conde Nast were partially evacuated.
Shouting and putting up wooden barricades, police began clearing several blocks around Times Square, directing thousands of Times Square tourists to move south.
There have been no corresponding threats involving the vehicle, said chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne.
“Its presence in Times Square just before New Year’s Eve causes us concern, and that’s why we’re taking extra precautions,” he said.
The 1992 Dodge van was parked in a row of cars beneath some of the large billboards that ring the square. Police used a robot to examine the vehicle, then approached on foot and peered in the windows. Investigators also used a heavy police vehicle to tow a parked car several yards from the van as a precaution.
Officers have largely kept their distance from the vehicle but have approached it periodically to examine it.
A tarp partially covered the van, and the placard said “detective’s crime scene, New York/New Jersey area,” a nonexistent law enforcement agency.
It wasn’t clear how long the area would be blocked off or if the van would be moved.
New Year’s Eve in Times Square draws hundreds of thousands of revelers each year. The NYPD takes extra precautions around this time of year, doing sweeps of garages looking for suspicious vehicles, Browne said.
Associated Press Writer Cristian Salazar contributed to this report.
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