Police release footage of Times Square bombing NEW YORK (AP)  Police have released footage from a private security camera showing a cyclist riding up to the Times Square military recruiting station where a small bomb was detonated. The bicyclist is seen getting off the 10-speed bike at 3:40 a.m. Thursday, and the blast occurring three minutes later. It is followed by a brief flash and a cloud of white smoke. Police say they later found the bike in the trash. MAIL CLUE: Letters suspect in Times Square blast No one was hurt in the blast. But Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though "unsophisticated," could have caused "injury and even death." A witness said they saw the person on the bike acting suspiciously around the time bomb went off. In October, two small explosive devices were tossed over a fence at the Mexican Consulate on Manhattan's East Side in 2007, shattering some windows; police said they believed someone on a bicycle threw the devices. At the time, police said they were investigating whether it was connected to a similar incident at the British consulate on May 5, 2005. No one was arrested in either incident. The bicyclist on Thursday was described as carrying a backpack and wearing a dark garment with a hood. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the witness did not see anyone placing or throwing the explosive device. "In 2005, 2007, dummy hand grenades were used and the explosive, black powder, was put into those grenades and that caused the explosion," Kelly said. "Here, it may be similar powder — we still have to determine that. But it was placed in an ammunition box. That was the carrier for the explosive. There was no grenade." Kelly held up a similar green metal box at a press conference and said they were readily available in Army-Navy surplus stores. The 3:45 a.m. Times Square blast caused minor damage to the landmark military recruiting station, prompting a huge police response that disrupted transit at the "crossroads of the world." It left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening the metal frame of the building, which is on a traffic island. Police were examining numerous security videotapes from the area. VIDEO: Blast is 'terrorism to me', New Yorker says "I was getting ready to set up the cart when I heard a loud explosion," said Bashir Saleh, who runs a breakfast cart at 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue, across from the recruiting station. "I ran out, and saw smoke coming out." "I didn't see it that second," said David Hassan, another breakfast cart owner operating across the street from Saleh. "I saw smoke and there was a loud boom. I was scared. I'm still shaky." Both men said that an officer from the police substation, a block south of the recruiting station, immediately came running out. Police reinforcement arrived soon after, they said. The military's 1,600 recruiting stations nationwide were alerted to the New York incident and advised to use extra caution, said Douglas Smith, spokesman for the Army recruiting command. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said no official higher state of alert had been issued. "We do get occasional vandals at our recruiting stations," Whitman said, adding that he didn't have figures on how many. "It's unfortunate but it happens from time to time." He said New York recruiters would be working temporarily out of their Union Square office. Bloomberg said the act "insults every one of our brave men and women in uniform stationed around the world." "Whoever the coward was that committed this disgraceful act on our city will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said Bloomberg. "We will not tolerate such attacks." The recruiting center has drawn sporadic protests for many years, including in October 2005, when a group who call themselves the Granny Peace Brigade rallied there against the Iraq war. Eighteen activists, most of them grandmothers in their 80s and 90s, were later acquitted of disorderly conduct. The brigade issued a statement Thursday deploring the bombing. Police cars and yellow tape initially blocked drivers from entering one of the world's busiest crossroads, though some traffic was allowed through around the start of rush hour. Guests at the Marriott Marquis on 46th Street said they heard a "big bang" and felt the building shake. Terry Leighton, 49, from London, England, said he was on the 21st floor of the hotel when he heard the blast and looked out a window. "I thought it could have been thunder," he said. "I looked down and there was a massive plume of smoke. So I knew it was an explosion." At one point in the investigation subway trains passed through the Times Square subway station without stopping, but normal service resumed later in the morning. Police cars and tape blocked the streets. The recruiting center was renovated in 1999 to better fit into the flashy ambiance of Times Square, using neon tubing to give the glass and steel office a patriotic American flag motif. For a half century, the station was the armed forces' busiest recruiting center. It has set national records for enlistment, averaging about 10,000 volunteers a year. Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Enlarge By David Karp, AP Officers and members of a bomb squad unit inspect the damage. The explosion left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening the metal frame of the building. New York police officers investigate an early-morning explosion outside the U.S. Armed Forces Career Center, which sits on a traffic island in Times Square, Thursday. The explosion caused minor damage to the building and temporarily shut down the area.



By David Karp, AP Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.