FBI offers $250,000 reward for information on 2008 Times Square bombing

NEW YORK — The FBI is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to the suspect or suspects responsible for the 2008 Times Square bombing.

According to the FBI, the bombing of the United States Armed Forces recruiting station in Times Square on March 6, 2008 may be linked to two other unsolved bombings in the city: the bombing of the British consulate in 2005 and the attack on the Mexican consulate in 2007.

Throughout the investigation, several people of interest have been identified and are being actively sought, the FBI said. The agency added that there was no statute of limitations in this particular case.

“Fifteen years may have passed since the attack, but New York (Joint Terrorism Task Force) is relentless in pursuing justice in this case,” FBI Deputy Director Michael J. Driscoll said. “If you have any information about this incident or those responsible, please contact us.”

On the morning of March 6, 2008, a suspect riding a blue Ross bicycle westbound on 37th Street turned right onto Sixth Avenue, then left onto 47th Street before turning right and left onto Seventh Avenue , according to the FBI. He then got off his bicycle near the recruiting station at West 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue, placed the explosive device at the recruiting station, lit a fuse, and fled on his bicycle.

Although the suspect appears to be working alone, he may have had a surveillance team of five others in Times Square at the time of the attack, authorities say. The suspect then rode his bike south on Broadway before turning left onto 38th Street, and the bike was later found in a dumpster near Madison Avenue and 38th Street.

The suspect was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and pants of an undetermined color, the FBI said. The height, weight, age, sex and other physical characteristics of the suspect are unknown.

According to federal authorities, the explosive was constructed from an ammunition box half-filled with gunpowder and detonated with a timed fuse.

Although no one was injured, it could have caused “significant deaths if people had been in the vicinity of the explosion,” the FBI said.

The Times Square bombing bears similarities to two other bombings in the city, both of which took place at consulates. In the British Consulate bombing in May 2005 and the Mexican Consulate bombing in October 2007, the ordnance was delivered by an individual on a bicycle and detonated between 3 and 4 a.m. Morning. Because of these similarities, it is possible that these three attacks are connected, according to the FBI.

The FBI urges anyone with information about any of the three bombings to call its New York office at 212-384-1000.