A suspicious package found in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan on Saturday led to a partial evacuation of the premises. The package , in and of itself, did not seem extremely suspicious, as New York Daily News reported, but there was something about the box that security believed warranted a search.
“The evacuation of the Eighth Ave. transit hub was called after a suspicious package, a cigar-sized box wrapped in brown paper, was found in the south wing of the terminal in front of McCann’s about 2:45 p.m.”
The news source reported that the reason why the package was thought to be suspicious was not because of its appearance (after all, a small paper package doesn’t really seem so scary), but because a dog trained to sniff out bombs focused in on the strange little package.
“Reports first popped up on Twitter with commuters tweeting that they were being evacuated from the building,” Heavy said.
What’s going on at the #portAuthority . Stuck pic.twitter.com/FX0kXKSrdS
— TatshaRobertson (@TatshaRobertson) April 2, 2016
https://twitter.com/Maya__Salam/status/716347354601938944
Bomb squad is here. #NYC #PortAuthority pic.twitter.com/dIPtYAI2Lx
— Pia Wilson (@pwilson720) April 2, 2016
The police also checked out an abandoned car on one of the upper levels of the terminal that had been left with the door open. Officials believed that the abandoned car might have been related to the suspicious package.
Port Authority officials quickly shut off and evacuated the south wing of the terminal so that the package could be inspected.
“The south wing was immediately evacuated and closed while police investigated,” New York Post wrote . “It took them less than an hour to determine the package contained nothing more than some books.”
Fire trucks have arrived. #NYC #PortAuthority pic.twitter.com/oEq1k5bWqu
— Pia Wilson (@pwilson720) April 2, 2016
New York Daily News said that the fire department and the bomb squad were called to the scene in order to make sure that the area and the package were safe.
One witness, Royston Crabaugh-Zuger, posted his experience on Facebook.
“As we pulled into the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC, driver is stopped by the police. Ordered to take the bus out of the bus station and let the passengers out on the street. No explanation but the bus terminal looked empty.”
Many other concerned commuters and citizens posted their experiences and opinions on Twitter.
“I’m safe for now, a few streets away,” Kevin Linsey said.
Suspicious package prompts Port Authority evacuation @TatshaRobertson : What’s going on at the #portAuthority . Stuck pic.twitter.com/dovHKFciPT
— A Great Big City (@agreatbigcity) April 2, 2016
This truly was an unfortunate occurrence for the Port Authority. The department in general has been the brunt of frustration and anger for a while now. Many people particularly accuse it of inefficiency, and this incident on Saturday did not help the department’s case. While they were fairly quick to get help to the scene, the entire occurrence appears to have caused a great deal of worry and delay. Many travelers acted more irritated than concerned.
As the Inquisitr reported , the Port Authority has even gotten in trouble with the cops over illegal searches of their officials’ cell phones.
Recently, a few travelers reported their individual frustrations on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/_Cait_Murphy/status/714813312974917632
https://twitter.com/bwhli/status/711595922061463554
https://twitter.com/brookeburdge/status/710613861519519744
Roaches falling from the ceiling in #PortAuthority ??????
— simplydeidra (@simplydeidra) March 10, 2016
It’s a good thing that the building is on its way to a renovation and that new reforms are in the making.
[Image by Mario Tama/Getty Images]
