May 7th, 2010
06:06 PM ET

All-clear given in Times Square scare

Police have blocked off parts of Times Square and evacuated people because of a suspicious cooler left in Times Square.

[Updated at 6:06 p.m.] Read the full CNN.com story

[Updated at 2:32 p.m.] Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York acknowledged after that incident that terrorists have targeted New York.

"We have to take every precaution, as you know, because we remain a prime target for terrorists," he said. "That's something all New Yorkers understand and it's something that we need Washington to understand as well."

"We will continue to doing everything we possibly can to protect New Yorkers from terrorist attacks. We have, as you know, built the most comprehensive and sophisticated counter terrorism operation of any local police force in the world."

[Updated at 2:24 p.m.] An all-clear was declared Friday after authorities investigated a suspicious package left in front of a hotel in Times Square and determined that it contained water bottles, police said.

[Updated at 2:10 p.m.] The New York Police Department has deployed a robot to X-ray the cooler that was abandoned in front of the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square, police told CNN's Susan Candiotti.

[Updated at 2:15 p.m.] A bomb squad robot has completed its X-ray of the suspicious cooler left in Times Square, CNN's Susan Candiotti reported. But, the results were inconclusive.

Members of the bomb squad are now suiting up to get a closer look.

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[Updated at 2:01 p.m.] CNN's Ali Velshi who is on 47th Street and Broadway reports: "Times Square is entirely empty" on certain blocks.

[Updated at 1:58 p.m.] Kathy Duffy, who is in her office at the Marriott Marquis hotel, told CNN the Times Square Alliance said there was an abandoned cooler left outside. Duffy said officials told her that the bomb squad was trying to determine if it was a threat. She said that the hotel has not been told to evacuate.

[Updated at 1:51 p.m.] A spokesman for the Times Square Alliance says, according to the NYPD, the following streets are closed:

  • East bound on 46th Street from 8th Ave
  • West bound on 45th Street from 6th Ave.
  • And the Broadway and 7th Avenue plaza between 44th and 47th.
  • 44th and 47th Streets themselves are not closed.

[Updated at 1:45 p.m.] The suspicious package that prompted evacuations in New York's Times Square is a white cooler that was left near the front of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, police told CNN.

The area is not far from where Faisal Shahzad left his SUV that had explosives in it.

People were evacuated from the streets of Times Square after a report of a suspicious package.

[Posted at 1:24 p.m.] Times Square has been evacuated after a suspicious package was found near 45th street, a New York Police Department official said.

The package was found near 45th Street and Broadway, officials said.

The evacuation comes six days after an SUV with explosives was left in Times Square resulting in the arrest of Faisal Shahzad.

This story is developing. We'll bring you the latest information as we get it.

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Filed under: Times Square
soundoff (1,087 Responses)
  1. sunlover10

    Hey ME..post #7. Don't you mean "than" dead? Funny what a difference correct English makes!

    May 7, 2010 at 2:17 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Cheif

    <>

    Yes, Jaime. It is all a ploy by big oil to take people's attention off the Gulf. Your stupidity is stunning.

    May 7, 2010 at 2:17 pm | Report abuse |
  3. David

    maybe snow will start to fall, and then a silver train will appear, and the cooler will be full of coos light.

    May 7, 2010 at 2:17 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Mitch

    This may be nothing, but it is much better to be safe than sorry! We should all praise the alert individuals who spotted the cooler, and the officers who responded so quickly.

    I hope this turns out to be nothing but a forgotten cooler, with nothing inside but a Coke can and some melted ice. But in either case, Hear Hear to the people on the scene who acted intelligently and decicively to protect innocent lives!

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Michael

    hey 594, how about you come here and do that. And when the thing explodes, there will be one less 'bad ass' in this world. Shucks.

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Moped the Great

    Its a white color, not black, not yellow or brown, white. Is this a racial incident? Does this have something to do with Iron Man 2? Maybe it is for Lebron James when he comes to New York as a Knick.

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Patriot from the US

    If you see my Camel his name is AKMAHD, careful he spits on white folks.

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  8. xaquinasx

    So do we evacuate the area every time a bum leaves a 40 in a paper bag on the sidewalk, too? Watch out, the boogeyman is everywhere!

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Lil Red

    Once upon a time, some New Yorker would've just opened the cooler to see what was inside and then bring it home.

    Now, everyone acts like the end of the world and lots of taxpayer dollars are wasted on silliness.

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  10. CJ Maloney

    Sarah Palin is on the way to the Police Command Center. She has volunteered to open the cooler. Stand back!

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Andrea

    To "I Actually Live Here"... thank you for some Common Sense!

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  12. smn

    Overblown paranoia. If the newspapers didn't report this story, we wouldn't have so much paranoia. The other side of free press. Nothing is perfect but we have to be vigilant and take all precautions!!!

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Brian

    Where is the cooler? I don't see it on the live cam

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Roberto

    maybe someone forgot their lunch when they boarded a bus or something.

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  15. John Fite

    I lost a cooler full of natural light somewhere around times square..... anybody seen it?

    May 7, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
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