PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The police chief of Portsmouth, N.H., says a bomb scare and standoff with a passenger aboard a Maine-to-New York Greyhound bus was "not a terrorist event."
Police Chief David Ferland calls the Thursday incident a "localized event only" and refuses to offer any additional information about the passenger, who surrendered after hours of negotiations.
The 16 other passengers and the driver safely left the bus parked in Portsmouth hours earlier.
The ordeal began late Thursday morning, when a passenger called 911 to report an explosive device on board. That led police to evacuate buildings and streets and call the passengers out under the watch of a sharpshooter in an armored vehicle.
No one was injured, and the holdout passenger is now in custody.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A nine-hour bomb scare aboard a Maine-to-New York Greyhound bus ended peacefully Thursday night when the lone remaining passenger walked off it with his hands over his head. The other 16 passengers and the driver had left the bus safely hours earlier.
No details about the passenger were immediately released, and the bus remained parked in downtown Portsmouth with a bomb squad on the scene. The man could be a foreign national, as agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were on the scene and there were reports an interpreter was needed to speak to him.
"He is in custody," police Capt. Mike Schwartz said. "No one is injured."
The ordeal began around 11:30 a.m. Thursday when a passenger called 911 to report an explosive device on board, leading police to evacuate buildings and streets and call the passengers out under the watch of a sharpshooter in an armored vehicle. One man remained on board and did not walk out until just before 9 p.m.
The man, wearing camouflage pants without a shirt, stepped off the bus with his hands high over his head. He then went to his knees before soon getting up and appearing to follow orders from police to walk away from the bus.
ICE spokesman Harold Ort could say only that there was an "ongoing issue" and that ICE was helping the investigation.
read more
No comments:
Post a Comment