March 6, 2008 Low-Grade Blast
at New York Army Recruitment Centre By Parveen Chopra
New York
A military recruitment station near New York City's landmark Times
Square was targeted with a low-grade explosion early Thursday.
Security agencies took a serious view of the incident though nobody
was injured.
The blast caused by a low-grade explosive device kept in a small
ammunition box occurred around 4 a.m. local time at the empty
recruitment centre.
It left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass
door, twisting and blackening its metal frame. No one was injured
even though some policemen were in the vicinity.
Witnesses said they heard a big bang.
Eight blocks around the blast site were cordoned off for a couple of
hours, but road traffic was flowing normally since and the subway
was also running.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference near the site
later in the morning that the blast seemed to have been
"deliberately directed at the recruiters, which insults every one of
our brave men and women in uniform stationed around the world".
"But the city is safe and running, open for business," he added.
"We are not intimidated and whoever the coward was that committed
this disgraceful act on our city will be found and prosecuted to the
full extent of the law," Bloomberg said. "We will not tolerate such
attacks."
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at the news conference that
the Joint Terrorism Task Force was investigating the blast.
"The New York Police Department collected the evidence, which FBI
will process in Virginia," he added.
The police commissioner also said a witness saw a hooded man on a
bicycle moving suspiciously in the area before the incident.
"If it is something that's directed toward American troops then it's
something that's taken very seriously and is pretty unfortunate,"
said Army Capt. Charlie Jaquillard, the commander of army recruiting
in Manhattan.
Soon after the blast, members of the police department's bomb squad
and fire officials gathered outside the recruitment centre - where
the marines, air force and navy also recruit - which is next to a
police station, with helicopters hovering around.
The recruiting station, located on a traffic island surrounded by
Broadway theatres and chain restaurants, has occasionally been the
site of anti-war demonstrations, ranging from silent vigils to loud
rallies.
The police earlier said it was too early to say if the blast was
related to two other minor explosions in the city.
In October last, two small explosive devices were tossed over a
fence at the Mexican consulate in the city. There was a similar
incident at the British consulate in May 2005.
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