Manhattan, NY – NYPD Ends Standoff With Man Suspected Of Tossing Hoax Device

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    Police direct pedestrians away from Columbus Circle, Thursday, July 21, 2016 in New York. Police negotiators are trying to talk to a man barricaded inside a vehicle in Manhattan, where he's suspected of tossing a hoax bomb. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)Manhattan, NY – A man suspected of tossing a hoax bomb through the open window of a police vehicle in Times Square was taken into custody Thursday after an overnight standoff a short drive away in Manhattan’s landmark Columbus Circle, the New York Police Department said.

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    The episode began when a person in a passing vehicle tossed a cylindrical object into the police car late Wednesday, said Chief of Department James O’Neill. The object turned out to include a candle and a harmless electrical component. A police photo showed those objects displayed beside foil and white cloth.

    Officers spotted the suspect’s SUV at around 2 a.m. Thursday at Columbus Circle and pulled it over, O’Neill said. He said the driver refused to get out and donned a red plastic helmet. SWAT officers went to the scene.

    Surrounding streets were closed and subway trains bypassed the area, a traffic circle at the southwest corner of Central Park that is home to the Time Warner Center and the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

    The standoff ended around 8 a.m. after police sent a robot to check out the suspect’s vehicle because they didn’t know what was inside it.

    Two officers were in the marked vehicle when the device was tossed inside, police said. They drove to a less-crowded area, placed the device on the sidewalk, got out and took cover. The bomb squad gave the all-clear a short time later. There are no reports of injuries.
    Police have blocked off several streets near Columbus Circle, Thursday, July 21, 2016 in New York. Police negotiators are trying to talk to a man barricaded inside a vehicle in Manhattan, where he's suspected of tossing a hoax bomb. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
    In this July 2016 photo provided by the New York Police Department, a hoax bomb that was thrown into a patrol car on Wednesday, July 20, 2016, is displayed near Columbus Circle in New York. A man suspected of tossing the hoax bomb through the open window of a police vehicle in Times Square was taken into custody after an overnight standoff, the New York Police Department said Thursday. (NYPD via AP)


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