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A makeshift bomb exploded just outside a United States military recruitment office at Times Square, in New York City, New York on Thursday. The crude bomb had little destructive potential, only shattering nearby glass windows and bending the office's metal door frame; and no one was injured.
In the early morning hours, police cordoned off the entire Times Square area, and New York City Subway cars passed by without stopping. But by 10:30 am EST, one New York City police officer told rediff.com that the situation was, "Back to business as usual."
Police later released footage from a nearby office's private security camera, which showed a lone man on a bike ride up to the building at around 3:40 am EST, walk towards the building, return to the bike, and ride away. A few minutes later, the camera captures a bright flash and a plume of white smoke and debris.
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told media that a bike had been found in a trash dumpster just a few blocks away from the detonation, and efforts were underway to determine if it was the same bike seen on camera. Though Kelly described the bomb as 'not particularly sophisticated', he claimed it could have caused injury or death.
According to reports, one witness told police that before the blast, while buying a newspaper, he saw a cyclist wearing a hooded jacket and a backpack, riding very slowly towards the eventual crime scene. The witness did not see the person set-up or toss the explosive.
Waleed Mahmoud, from Yemen, who runs an on-street breakfast cart at a nearby intersection, said that he was unable to set up his operation on time today, because of the blast.
"The police would not allow me to put my cart in the normal space (in Times Square). By 6:00 am, there were many officers here asking (the food vendors) to give them room and to let them investigate," he said.