According to a spokesperson for the New York Police Department, on August 18th, local time, the area around Times Square in Midtown Manhattan was closed for about an hour and a half due to a report of a suspicious package. Vehicle and pedestrian traffic resumed at noon on the same day.
The New York City Police Department issued an emergency notice in the morning, asking people to avoid the area around Times Square, stating that a “major police operation” was taking place in the area. The police posted on social media: “Please avoid the intersection of West 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan… There may be emergency vehicles and traffic delays in the surrounding area.”
At that time, videos showed that a two-block section of the road between 42nd Street and 44th Street on Seventh Avenue was fully closed off, and a bomb disposal team had arrived at the scene.