Federal authorities busted a man Thursday who was planning to throw explosives at people in Times Square, law enforcement sources tell the Daily News.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, was arrested after the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force — which includes NYPD officers — caught wind of his queries into buying grenades, sources said.
Investigators described the suspect as a lone wolf, and do not believe he was part of a larger plot, sources said.
More information on the suspect and where he was arrested was not immediately available Thursday night.
Times Square has been the target of a number of terror threats in recent years.
A car bombing was thwarted May 1, 2010 when the bomb fizzled on West 45th St. and a nearby handbag vendor alerted cops.
Faisal Shahzad pleaded guilty and just five months after the incident was sentenced to life in federal prison. The one-time suburban Connecticut dad was an admireer of Osama bin Laden, and was unrepentant at sentencing, saying he was part of a group of “proud terrorists.”
The 2008 bombing of the military recruiting station in Times Square remains unsolved.
In that case, a man rode up on a blue bicycle early on the morning of March 6, and left the bomb next to the station. The explosion shattered glass, but didn’t hurt anyone.
The FBI said in 2015 it had identified several persons of interest in the case and in similar bombings at the British Consulate in 2005 and the Mexican Consulate in 2007. But no arrests have been made.
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