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New York's Times Sq. evacuated for suspicious vehicle

20 mins ago [10:40 EST]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Police evacuated New York's Times Square on Saturday night after a dark-colored sports utility vehicle was found to be smoking and a small “flash” was observed by firefighters on the scene.

Officers at the scene said the evacuation order stemmed from an “emergency investigation” and dozens of officers blocked access to the busy central Manhattan square, which is popular with tourists and theater-goers.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said a vehicle had been left in Times Square, with smoke seen coming from it.

There was an unconfirmed report that someone was seen running from the car, Browne said. A bomb squad responded and a small fire was extinguished, he said.

“We're just trying to determine if it was anything other than a car fire,” said Browne. “We don't know yet if it's anything more than that.”

The SUV is parked very close to a production of “The Lion King” on 45th Street. Women in evening gowns were among the crowd on one of the warmest nights of the year and the busiest night of the week for Broadway theaters in the area.

Vehicle and pedestrian traffic was very heavy on streets outside the evacuation zone, including Sixth and Eighth Avenues. All intersections in the area were blocked by police and fire department vehicles, lights flashing.

A New York City firefighter who said he arrived early on the scene described the vehicle as a dark-colored SUV, and said it was parked at the corner of 45th Street and Seventh Avenue.

He confirmed the vehicle was smoking and also said he saw “a flash” from the back of the SUV. The firefighter said a “mini-explosion” occurred between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

“The SUV was smoking. There was a flash and we put two and two together” and an evacuation was ordered, he said.

Other emergency personnel on the scene called the incident a “car fire.”

The firefighter said the bomb squad remained at the scene as of 9 p.m., including a firefighter in a bomb suit. A robot was being used to investigate the suspicious SUV.

EXPLOSIONS WERE WATER CANNONS

Reuters reporters on the scene said they heard an explosion from the area of the SUV around 9:15 p.m. An NYPD community affairs officer said that and another small explosion heard by bystanders were the sound of water cannons aimed at the vehicle in an attempt to break through the glass.

Two fire trucks were also at the scene, prepared to douse the vehicle with water if needed, the firefighter said.

Police allowed some people to enter theaters to view Broadway shows in the vicinity but later blocked other theatergoers from entering.

At least some of the shows were allowed to go on.

The square itself was mostly evacuated by 8 p.m., according to Reuters reporters on the scene. Police had evacuated an area stretching from about 42nd Street up to 47th Street and including Seventh Avenue and Broadway.

A Reuters reporter on the scene said police began to broaden the area evacuated around 9:30 p.m., with crowds on 45th Street being pushed back from Times Square to Eighth Avenue to the west and Sixth Avenue to the east.

Tourists in the area expressed annoyance and amusement. Nam Vu, 24, said he had arrived by bus in New York at 8 a.m. from Canada and was prevented from meeting a friend at the Marriott Marquis on Times Square.

“I feel like I'm on a TV show,” he said. “Where is (actor) Denzel Washington?”

People inside theaters and restaurants on Times Square were generally allowed to stay, or to depart the area, but only police and firefighters were being allowed in.

People dining inside the Blue Fin restaurant in a hotel at 47th and Broadway were allowed to continue.

Police officers earlier told Reuters the area was shut down due to “an emergency investigation.”