Traffic was snarled near City Hall for about an hour Wednesday afternoon as police investigated a suspicious case found in JFK Plaza.
A bomb squad was called to the plaza at 12:10 p.m. because a suspicious gray briefcase was discovered inside a collection of bags stuffed into a black cart. The cart was chained to a sign honoring former city planner Ed Bacon on 15th Street, near JFK Boulevard. Bystanders heard a muffled explosion as the bomb squad detonated the shopping cart's contents. The ordnance disposal team pulled out the green duffel bag containing the case, and pulled the other bags apart, finding "mostly clothes and a few tools," Police Capt. Alan Clark said.
