NYPD to give all-clear in suspicious car probe shortly

May 14th, 2010 - 11:55 am ICT by BNO News  

NEW YORK CITY (BNO NEWS) — Authorities on early Friday were wrapping up an investigation into a suspicious vehicle near Union Square in lower Manhattan, which caused some evacuations in the nearby area, according to law enforcement sources.

The New York Police Department said the fire department discovered a suspicious vehicle on East 14th Street and Irving Place around 10.16 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday. “The bomb squad has responded and is investigating,” a police spokesman said. Two gas canisters were seen in the back of the car, and a bomb squad robot was seen inspecting the vehicle.

A spokesman for the New York Fire Department confirmed the incident, saying that nearby buildings had been evacuated. He did not know how many buildings or how many people had been evacuated. An Emergency Service Unit was also on scene.

Sara Banda, a spokeswoman for utility company Con Edison, said its building at 4 Irving Place had been evacuated.

Just before 1 a.m. Eastern time, the New York Police Department said an all-clear was expected shortly.

On May 1, a mounted police officer was alerted to a smoking vehicle in New York City’s Times Square. It turned out to contain a car bomb that was intended to kill Americans, according to U.S. officials. A 30-year-old Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, Faisal Shahzad, was later arrested as he tried to flee the country.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the failed terrorist attack.

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