For information leading to the identity, capture, and conviction of the culprit in the unsolved 2008 bombing of the U.S. Armed Forces recruitment station in Times Square, the FBI announced a new prize on Tuesday of up to $250,000.
According to the FBI, the suspect, or suspects, may be linked to two further unsolved bombings that occurred in New York in 2005 at the British Consulate and in 2007 at the Mexican Consulate.
While the source of the explosive device’s components has been located and is the subject of an investigation, finding the perpetrator or perpetrators will need the assistance of the general public.
The FBI Assistant Director in Charge, Michael J. Driscoll, said that while it has been fifteen years since the bombing, the New York JTTF [Joint Terrorism Task Force] remains resolute in its pursuit of justice in this case. “Please get in touch with us if you have any information regarding this occurrence or its perpetrators.”
On March 6, 2008, a bomb went off at the Times Square U.S. Armed Forces recruitment center in the early hours of the morning. The suspect traveled west on 37th Street on a blue Ross bicycle, then turned right up Sixth Avenue, then left on 47th Street, before turning left down Seventh Avenue.
Outside the recruitment station at West 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue, the guy got off his bike, detonated the explosive device there, lit a fuse, and rode away.
The FBI said that while the suspect appeared to be acting alone, a lookout or surveillance squad of up to five additional people may have been present in Times Square at the time of the incident. The suspect then turned left onto 38th Street after riding his or her bike south on Broadway. Later on, the bicycle was located in a trash can close to Madison Avenue and 38th Street.
An ammo container was used to construct the explosive device. It was half-filled with black powder, and a time fuse was used to set it off.
Although nobody was hurt, the device might have killed several people if they had been around when it exploded. The elements resemble those in the previous two bomb assaults.
In 2015, the FBI set up a $115,000 prize in the case. The CIA claimed to have looked into “many” persons of interest at the time.