Thanks to alert street vendors and the New York Police Department, Times Square was saved from a car bomb attack on Saturday night. 

Update: Fox 5's Good Day New York co-host Greg Kelly interviews one of the vendors who tipped off police officers. (Full disclosure: Greg Kelly is the son of New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.)

While we don't yet know who was responsible for this cowardly attack, the bomb scare is a troubling reminder about the threat of terrorism. While no one wants to think that such an attack could be possible, it's important that we as citizens stay alert and report suspicious activity to the authorities. Two vendors who sell t-shirts in Times Square were the first to notice the abandoned sport's utility vehicle on Saturday and reported it to the police.

Knowledge and awareness could not be more important to deterring the threat of terrorism. The next "9/11 Today and Tomorrow" program at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site,

features Bill Braniff who will discuss the counterterrorism training of our law enforcement. As the director of external education and an instructor at the Combating Terrorism Center and instructor at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, Braniff conducts cutting-edge counterterrorism research and trains law enforcement on how to understand the inner-workings of al Qaeda.  "Understanding the Enemy: Counterterrorism and Al Qaeda" will be held on May 19 at 6:30pm at 20 Vesey Street. Learn more and RSVP.

By Lynn Rasic, Sr. Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications for the 9/11 Memorial