How the police caught the bomb suspect in 53 hours


Then investigators managed to recover the VIN, hidden on the SUV's engine block — and thus began a chase that led to the arrest of the would-be bomber 53 hours and 20 minutes after the smoking vehicle was spotted on one of the busiest streets in America.


"Jack Bauer might have caught him in '24,' " said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, referring to the Fox TV show. "But in the real world, 53's not bad."


Six minutes later, a street vendor pointed out the SUV, which had started belching smoke and making "popping noises," to a police officer on horseback. The officer, Wayne Rhatigan, called in a report of a car fire, flagged down other officers and started evacuating the area.

At 6:40 p.m., firefighters were on the scene. After breaking the car's windows to try to put out the fire, they discovered its contents: three propane tanks, two gallons of gasoline and a load of fertilizer, with fireworks and some alarm clocks as a trigger.

The New York Police Department bomb squad was called in and went to work dismantling the device, defusing it by 11:30 p.m. Times Square, clogged with tourists, was shut down for 10 hours.

Meanwhile, the NYPD and FBI were pursuing the license plate attached to the back of the SUV. Investigators tracked it to a used auto parts shop in Stratford, Conn., but discovered the plate was connected to a different vehicle.

At 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Detective John Wright slid underneath the SUV at a Queens lab and discovered the clue that would crack the case — a VIN number on the bottom of the engine block.

That led authorities to a Bridgeport, Conn., man and his 19-year-old daughter, who had posted ads online to sell a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, court papers said.

During questioning on Sunday morning and again Monday, the teenager told investigators she met the man who bought her car at a supermarket parking lot on April 24. She was asking $1,800; he offered $500 less. She agreed and he paid her in cash.

No bill of sale was necessary, she said the buyer told her. She did not know his name — but she did have a cell number.

That led to a prepaid cell phone activated on April 16 and used to call the teenager several times, investigators said. A check of phone records showed it was also used to contact a Pennsylvania fireworks shop.

By 11 a.m. Monday, investigators knew the suspect's name.

Meanwhile, there was more evidence.



Authorities planned to arrest him at his apartment that evening, but Shahzad may have gotten spooked by news reports that investigators were seeking a Pakistani suspect in Connecticut, two people familiar with the probe said. He managed to slip federal surveillance.


A customs agent assigned to the case spotted Shahzad's name on the flight manifest.

He was belted into his seat when FBI investigators and NYPD officers entered the jetliner and took him into custody.

The time was 11:45 p.m. —53 hours and 20 minutes after the Times Square scare began.