FBI offering $250K reward for unsolved 2008 Times Square bombing

(NEW YORK) — The FBI announced a new reward Tuesday of up to $250,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the suspect involved in the unsolved 2008 bombing of the U.S. Armed Forces recruiting station in Times Square.

The suspect, or suspects, may be connected to two other unsolved bombings in New York, at the British consulate in 2005 and the Mexican consulate in 2007, the FBI said.

The origin of the components of the explosive device in Times Square has been identified and is being investigated, but public help is needed to identify the person or persons responsible.

“Fifteen years may have passed since the bombing occurred, but the New York JTTF [Joint Terrorism Task Force] is unwavering in the pursuit of justice in this case,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll. “If you have any information about this incident or those responsible for it, please contact us.”

It was early in the morning of March 6, 2008, when a bomb exploded at the Times Square U.S. Armed Forces recruiting station in the heart of Times Square. The suspect rode a blue Ross bicycle west on 37th Street, took a right up Sixth Avenue and made a left on 47th Street before turning left down Seventh Avenue.

The suspect got off his bike near the recruiting station at West 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue, placed the explosive device at the recruiting station, lit a fuse and fled the scene on the bicycle.

Although the suspect appears to be working alone, he or she may have had a lookout or surveillance team of as many as five other individuals in Times Square at the time of the attack, the FBI said. The suspect then rode his or her bike south on Broadway before turning left on 38th Street. The bike was later recovered in a dumpster near Madison Avenue and 38th Street.

The explosive device was built using an ammunition can. It was filled halfway with black powder and detonated using a time fuse.

Although no one was wounded, the device could have caused significant casualties if people had been close to the blast. The components are similar to those of the two other bomb attacks.

The FBI had announced a reward of $115,000 in the case in 2015. At the time, the agency said it had investigated “several” people of interest in the case.

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