According to published and broadcast reports, the Connecticut man, Faisal Shahzad, 30, was plucked from Kennedy Airport in Queens, where he was planning to take an Emirates jet to Dubai.
He is believed to have purchased the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder that was parked on West 45th Street at around 6:30 PM May 1. Fireworks, gasoline and propane tanks were found in the back of the S.U.V.; the materials failed to explode despite an attempt to ignite the material.
The smoking S.U.V. prompted a shutdown and partial evacuation of a section of Times Square and the Broadway theatre district.
The investigation is ongoing. A home in Bridgeport, CT, has been raided.
Despite the crude nature of the bomb, the Justice Department is characterizing the crime as a terrorist act intended to harm Americans. Police tracked down the Nissan's previous owner and found Shahzad via email and phone records associated with the cash sale of the vehicle.
