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:
[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.
I hope they found the person that did this and get charge w/the crime. This is not a game or a joke, if anyone out there is playing this as a prank please stop, this is very serious stuff.
why are people responding to the illiterate retard who doesn't think times square is "near people"? hahahaha probably doesn't know what it means when you answer the phone, "grand central (station)" either. the comments here just prove our country is being flushed down the toilet by uneducated mentally unhealthy and unhappy people, when they take THIS opportunity to find a way to rag on fellow americans over terrorists.
retarted yuppies with their retarted comments
This is officaly the most expensive bottles of water ever !!!
at post#1019 NY got nice and beautiful classy women? i've been living here for few years now haven't really seen any all i see is them women in 100 of layers of make ups now cali got all the hot looking girls!
People just want to extend their weekend. It's not paranoia...
haha sorry man, i read it too quickly cause i was mad, but you're right.
peoople that make fun of these things are the first cowards to ask for help!
Post #1039: and your "retarted" spelling skills...
Anyone who doesn't live in NYC has no liberty to talk about "just paranoia" when we live every day, shoving paranoid thoughts out of our head to continue living in this amazing city.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/terror
1.intense, sharp, overmastering fear: to be frantic with terror.
A cooler with water bottles evacutates Time Square. Violence is not a prerequisite, or required precursor, for terror. I feel terrible for the people who were threatened or perceived as threatened. seems that it's very easy to cause a huge disturbance
mmmmmmm girls
I find this incredibly ironic since I believe that the companies that steal the basic necessities of life (WATER!) package them and sell them back at 1900x their cost while claiming the rights and control of those resources are terrorists. You might not see it today– they're like sleeper cells. But 20 years from now when clean water is scarce in many US regions, these companies will be our dictators. Get off the bottle today! http://tappedthemovie.com
dontcareforNYimnWA
Do you truly mean that?? Jeez...scarier than the taliban are serious morons like yourself. Hoping you're either 14 or kidding and just looking for venom spewed back at you. We want attention? Thanks...we've had enough attention. It's almost 10 years and the vision or a random thought of that Sept morning enters my mind everyday. Everyday.
To think that enough time has passed for others to make light of the situation is really a shame and hurtful. We're still all Americans, arent we?
Did anyone notice Comment #64 authored by Faisal Shazhad: "Something big must of happened!!!" Isn't this the same guy who terrorized Times Square on Saturday? Big joke, Faisal, but we're not laughing.