2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
On May 1, 2010, a terrorist attack was attempted in Times Square in Manhattan, New York. Two street vendors alerted NYPD after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle, and a car bomb was discovered. The bomb had been ignited, but failed to explode, and was disarmed before it caused any casualties. Two days later, federal agents arrested Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistan-born resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who had become a U.S. citizen in April 2009. He was arrested after he had boarded Emirates Flight 202 to Dubai at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He admitted attempting the car bombing and said that he had trained at a Pakistani terrorist training camp, according to U.S. officials.
| 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt | |
|---|---|
| Part of Terrorism in the United States | |
The dark blue Nissan Pathfinder SUV (right) in Times Square, Manhattan, 27 minutes after the attempted attack. The vehicle's rear hazard lights are on. | |
| Location | 1 Astor Plaza/1515 Broadway, New York City, New York (Times Square, Manhattan) 10036, United States |
| Coordinates | 40.758056°N 73.985768°W |
| Date | Saturday, May 1, 2010 6:28 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) |
Attack type | Car bombing (failed attempt) |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Perpetrators | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan |
| Motive | See below |
| Convicted | Faisal Shahzad |
United States Attorney General Eric Holder said that Shahzad's intent had been "to kill Americans." Shahzad was charged in federal court in Manhattan on May 4 with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and other federal crimes related to explosives. More than a dozen people were arrested by Pakistani officials in connection with the plot. Holder said the Pakistani Taliban directed the attack and may have financed it.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of "severe consequences" if an attack like this were to be successful and traced back to Pakistan. The Obama administration saw a need for retaliatory options, including a unilateral military strike in Pakistan, if a future successful attack was to be traced to Pakistan-based militants.
On October 5, 2010, Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to a 10-count indictment in June, including charges of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting an act of terrorism.