Investigators determined after an anxious hour or so that the suspicious package -- a green cooler -- contained only water bottles."
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="560" caption="Photo Credit: UpstateNYer"]
[/caption]The cooler was found in an area near where the notorious SUV of last week's bombing attempt had been parked.
"Police evacuated parts of Times Square around 1 p.m. ET as they investigated, though people remained in the hotel and nearby buildings, said Kathy Duffy, a hotel spokeswoman.
'Our buildings were not evacuated,' she said. 'Our hotel has not been evacuated.'
A few minutes after the all clear was given it was like the incident had never happened. Cars were driving through again, pedestrians were strolling around and people were purchasing theater tickets at half price.
'I'm not afraid of that -- been around too long,' said Pete Dloss, a 76-year-old tourist from Florida, who stood at the front of the line waiting to buy four tickets to 'La Cage Aux Folles.'
'I wasn't afraid,' said Mike Day, a tourist from Newfoundland, Canada, who was waiting to buy two tickets for 'Billy Elliot' on Broadway. 'All part of the experience. You assume it was a false alarm.'"
Like the above, some people were not worried, however, the authorities found another suspicious truck a few blocks away which caused some more concern. A bit later, the all clear was given for this as well.
"A spokesman for the New York Police Department said officials get 90 to 100 calls per day, on average, about suspicious packages or vehicles. Only a fraction of those are investigated by the bomb squad, said Sgt. Kevin Hayes."
Last week, in the attempted SUV bombing, authorities say that Faisal Shahzad, an American citizen left a car bomb in Times Square that failed to detonate.
"Investigators arrested Shahzad after he had boarded an airplane with plans to leave the United States, authorities said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York acknowledged after that incident that terrorists have targeted New York.
'We have to take every precaution, as you know, because we remain a prime target for terrorists,' he said. 'That's something all New Yorkers understand and it's something that we need Washington to understand as well.'
'We will continue to doing everything we possibly can to protect New Yorkers from terrorist attacks. We have, as you know, built the most comprehensive and sophisticated counterterrorism operation of any local police force in the world.'"
It is a big relief that it was a false alarm. This just shows that it is good to prepare for unexpected events. The saying, "better safe then sorry" comes in to play here very well.
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