A small bomb caused minor damage to New York's Times Square military recruiting station before dawn March 7, and police are searching for a hooded bicyclist observed pedaling away on a surveillance video. The blast left a hole in the front window and shattered a glass door. No one was hurt, but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though unsophisticated, could have caused "injury and even death." Police found a metal ammunition box they believe contained the explosive. Kelly said the box was readily available in Army-Navy surplus stores.
Associated Press [2] gratuitously mentioned anti-war actions at the station:
In October 2005, a group of activists who call themselves the Granny Peace Brigade rallied there against the Iraq war. Eighteen activists, most of them grandmothers with several in their 80s and 90s, were later acquitted of disorderly conduct.
More legitimately, the AP account invoked the similar attack at the Mexican consulate [3] last October. We noted at the time that NYPD investigators were questioning local activists about the attack. Activists are advised not speak to law enforcement under any circumstances, or let police enter your residence. Instead, direct them to your attorney.
Fox News [4] reports that police are investigating letters that arrived the day of the Times Square attack at eight Capitol Hill congressional offices, containing a photo of the recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim "Happy New Year, We Did It." The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of the recruiting station, according to a Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity. The envelope also contained a packet of approximately 10 sheets of paper that seemed to be a "political manifesto railing against the Iraq war and a booklet." The aide apparently didn't know what the booklet was.
Those who received the letter reportedly included Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) and Lois Capps (D-CA). Fox notes that all are members of the Out of Iraq Caucus [5].
See our last posts on the anarchist scare [6] and fear in New York City [7].
