FBI, NYC offer $65K reward for 2008 Times Square bombing info

The FBI and the New York City Police Department announced they are offering a reward of up to $65,000 for information related to the suspect or suspects involved in the 2008 bombing of the Times Square Armed Forces Recruiting Station.

Police also re-released surveillance footage showing a suspect riding a blue Ross bicycle to the scene and placing what is believed to be the bomb in front of the recruiting station. (Watch the video at left.)

In a press release, officials said: "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 bombing took place on March 6, 2008, and the bomb itself was contained in a metal ammunition box. It produced a sudden flash and billowing cloud of white smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was no serious damage, and there still is not any clear indication of a motive.

The blast left a gaping hole in the recruiting station's front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening the building's metal frame.

According to officials, "the explosive device was built using an ammunition can commonly found on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. 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."

There were similar attacks in 2005 on the British consulate and in 2007 on the Mexican consulate in New York.

In their press release, the FBI and the NYPD said they "will be using the hash tag #BikeBomber to disseminate information about the attacks and to solicit information. The photos and video are also being displayed on digital billboards throughout the northeast, including in Times Square."