WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that Americans will not be intimidated by terrorism, referring to the failed car bombing attempt at New York's Times Square.

"As Americans and as a nation, we will not be terrorized. We will not cower in fear. We will not be intimidated," Obama said in an address to the Business Council on job creation and Wall Street reform.

Obama said that FBI and other authorities are investigating the suspect in this plot to determine "what if any connection this individual has to terrorist groups."

Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen who was born in Pakistan, was suspected of driving a failed car bomb into New York's Times Square. He was arrested Monday at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York as he tried to board a flight to Dubai, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday.

The president also expressed appreciation for the quick action taken by ordinary citizens and local, state and federal authorities on Saturday night.

Obama made calls Tuesday morning to Lance Orton and Officers Wayne Rhatigan and Pam Duffy to thank them for their vigilance, according to the White House.

Lance Orton and Duane Jackson were the vendors who first reported the specious vehicle. Officers Rhatigan and Duffy were the officers on the scene whose actions led to the evacuation of the area and the immediate response.