Lance Orton, Times Square Car Bomb Hero: 'See Something, Say Something'

Lance Orton, the man who alerted the NYPD of the suspicious vehicle that was later found to be loaded with a bomb, was not eager to speak to reporters today.

The Vietnam vet did not want to give his name or comment on Saturday night's commotion. But Orton, a t-shirt vendor, did end up giving some sound advice to his fellow New Yorkers: "See something, say something."

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Comments

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

09:48 AM on 05/05/2010

Don't let Napolitano be director of Homeland Security. Let Lance Orton, the T-shirt vendor guy do that. Make Napolitano sell the T-Shirts

[Arrech]

08:58 AM on 05/05/2010

And Rudy Giuliani wanted to remove vendors from the streets of Manhattan....

Good thing he didn't get away with it.

[MrUniteUs]

02:37 PM on 05/04/2010

Thank you Mr. Orton
You saved the day.

[annie0107]

02:20 PM on 05/04/2010

Thank you, Mr. Orton, for your courage and your quick action.

[nkhogan]

09:56 AM on 05/04/2010

Thanks Lance!

[Ryan Magdangal]

05:02 PM on 05/03/2010

HERO!

[njgal4obama]

01:41 PM on 05/03/2010

It's too bad Mr. Orton wasn't around when that poor man got stabbed last week rescuing a woman from a mugger.

Folks stepped over him and took cell phone pictures for an hour as he laid in a pool of his own blood. By the time anyone called the police he was dead.

See Something, Say Something. That could be NYC's new mantra.

[KikoJones]

03:44 PM on 05/04/2010

I thought that sort of ghoulish spectator sport had gone out of style with wine coolers. Obviously not.

[Ndpndnt Thnkr]

11:30 AM on 05/03/2010

Hero noun, plural -roes; for 5 also -ros.
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

Ok, since we know the meaning of Hero let's respect the opinion of others who consider this man to be one. I for one believe he potentially saved some unsuspecting person life by his actions. He could have thought it was a bomb and packed up and left the scene.

[mcmutter]

11:04 AM on 05/03/2010

The unsung hero of NYC

Thanks an awful lot .....

[RaRah]

11:01 AM on 05/03/2010

I like him. He's cool.

[jones]

10:56 AM on 05/03/2010

Maybe Bloomberg, NASDAQ, the monster banks and all the citizens of NYC and outlying boroughs should buy his t-shirts. To me he's a hero for calling 911.... unlike the onlookers in the Bronx when the guy who tried to stop an attack on a lady ended up knifed and died while people walked right by him...

Yeah.... this dude is a hero..he cares.

[christopherflynn]

10:41 AM on 05/03/2010

A true hero doesn't need to be told he/she is a hero...They quietly do "their thing" and get on with their lives. You have to love 'em.....

[achantegrelet]

10:06 AM on 05/03/2010

monday, 4th 2010, Video of time square smoking car ...found before worst. Once more the Vietnam vet heros became heros from his T-Shirt shop to alert on terrorism for his country of U.S.A. Lance Orton did get that time of his life a very sharp detector senses to give the right alert against a smoking white car as it has been reported on the french radio Fance-Inter yesterday, Sunday 3rd May 2010. Bye! Bye! Regards from Miss Anna CHANTEGRELET french from France living in England.

[Bushdepression]

09:35 AM on 05/03/2010

A Vietnam vet who was shot at with Chinese made munitions comes home and has no other economic options but to sell Chinese made T-shirts on a street corner?

I shudder to think of the economic fate of all our "heroes" fighting in Iraquistan.

[AllenFromAtlanta]

09:49 AM on 05/03/2010

So true.

I watched the movie Brothers last night and have also worked with PTSD vets; it's going to be difficult for so many vets coming back with PTSD issues and with no jobs to be found. I hope we are doing a better job to support them in military hospitals and through outreach.

[bklynsparrow]

10:41 AM on 05/03/2010

the mtto of the VVA is "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."

Vietnam Veterans have had a long, hard, heartbreaking road. My brother is a Vietnam Vet. And I would urge everyone to donate or volunteer with the many fine veteran organizations that are helping present day veterans, such as the Wounded Warrior Project, and neverforgetFfoundationnyc.org .

[MultipleOrigins]

09:26 PM on 05/04/2010

Good post - thanks for sharing.

[hjo4]

09:30 AM on 05/03/2010

The cop who DID HIS JOB is no hero either but Bloomberg had dinner with him and praised him as The HERO. I'll wait to see of Michael Bloomberg acknowledge those two street vendors, to date I have not read any words from him thanking them for alerting the police. They didn't have to say anything. IMO it's more important for the average citizen to be praised than the police whose job it is to spot these things.

[NikkiNY12]

10:13 AM on 05/03/2010

YES! I was really ticked off that Bloomberg had dinner with the cop and not the vendor. And at the Blue Finn at that?!?! So rude smh....the vendor has a place in my heart and I'd take him to dinner if I could.

[bogart14]

11:13 AM on 05/03/2010

I'm sorry, but how is dialing 911 heroic?! He saw a smoking car and called the cops. So heroic to not want to get blown up, yeah. Not denigrating the guy, good job for doing the only obvious thing to do, but the standard for heroism has obviously gone down when "yeah officer, there's a car in front of me that may be on fire" makes someone a hero.

[VeggieLove]

01:17 AM on 05/04/2010

It's probably more than you would have done!

[MultipleOrigins]

09:28 PM on 05/04/2010

Lance could have packed his merchandise - called it a day and left the area...... but he did not - he saved lives - so yes he is a hero.