A 'person of interest' is being investigated by police after three rice cookers found scattered around Lower Manhattan prompted a...
A 'person of interest' is being investigated by police after three rice cookers found scattered around Lower Manhattan prompted a bomb scare on Friday morning.
Surveillance video obtained by police shows a white man pushing a shopping cart with rice cookers inside Fulton Street Station and leaving them on the mezzanine and on one of the platforms.
Investigators believe him to be in his 20s or early 30s. He's described as having dark curly hair, wearing a black t-shirt with Amazon 'Prime Day 2018' written on the front, and is suspected to be homeless.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said the person is not a suspect of a crime at this time, but he is 'certainly someone we'd like to interview.'
Police first received a 911 call reporting two suspicious packages in Fulton Street Station at 7.15am. After deeming both to be safe and identifying them to be unmodified rice cookers, news of a third suspicious item was reported moments later a short distance away.
Surveillance video obtained by police shows a white man pushing a shopping cart with rice cookers inside and leaving them in Fulton Street Station and on one of its platforms
A NYPD Bomb Squad officer investigates suspicious packages as police close off West 16th Street near Seventh Avenue
The item has since been deemed safe by explosive specialists and appeared to be an unmodified rice cooker - the same as the first two items found earlier Friday, police revealed
A third suspicious device was found in downtown New York Friday morning, just moments after officials gave the 'all clear' to two other suspect packages found in a subway station near the World Trade Center
Miller said the timing of the incident and where the devices were found have prompted officials to investigate whether the rice cookers were intended as 'a hoax device'.
'The time, rush hour; the place, a subway station; the item, rice cookers that could be mistaken for pressure cookers,' he said. 'It certainly is the kind of thing that we would want to know why is he placing them there and what is the purpose of that.'
However, Miller reaffirmed that investigators are not sure of the man's motives or intentions.
'As you all know, there are people with shopping carts who pick up things on the street and put them back down on the street, and that’s kind of a fact of urban life,' he continued.
'It is possible that somebody picked up a bunch of items in the trash today, and this guy picked them up and discarded them.'
The third suspicious package was found near a garbage can in Chelsea on West 16th Street and 7th Avenue.
The item was deemed safe by explosive specialists soon after and appeared to be an unmodified rice cooker - similar to the first two items found earlier Friday, police revealed.
The third suspicious package (left) was found near a garbage can in Chelsea on West 16th Street and 7th Avenue. All three were confirmed to be rice cookers and did not appear to be modified in any way, according to two law enforcement
A poster released by authorities hoping to identity the 'person of interest'
One of the packages was found inside Fulton Street station, and the other was found on a near by platform that carries 2 and 3 trains
New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority resumed service on the 2 and 3 at Fulton Street at 10:24 am, following this morning's investigation
The discovery of the third item came just moments after the NYPD's counterterrorism squad said two suspicious packages found at Fulton Street Station were not explosive.
They were confirmed to be rice cookers and did not appear to be modified in any way, according to two law enforcement.
Police say each of the cookers are the same make and model.
One of the cookers was found inside Fulton Street station, and the other was found on a near by platform that carries 2 and 3 trains.
Both of them were empty, police revealed.
In a tweet, NYPD Chief of Counterterrorism James R. Waters said the devices were cleared without incident, and emphasized that they were 'NOT explosive devices'.
Investigators are working to find out whether the items were left behind.
'Out of an abundance of caution officers have searched nearby stations,' Waters added.
Authorities were alerted to the scene at around 7:15 am Friday. There were no reports of injuries
In a tweet, NYPD Chief of Counterterrorism James R. Waters said the devices have now been cleared, and said they were 'NOT explosive devices'
Fulton Street Station was evacuated as a precaution, along with near-by subway stops as well (pictured: Commuters are redirected by law enforcement at the Oculus transportation hub)
Authorities were alerted to Fulton Street Station at around 7:15 am Friday, following a 911 call.
They gave the items the all clear just over an hour later at 8:20am.
Fulton Street Station, one of New York's busiest commuter hubs and just a short distance from the World Trade Center, was evacuated as a precaution.
Three New York Fire Department units were also sent to the scene of the police investigation near the Fulton Street subway complex, a department spokesperson said.
There were no reports of injuries but the morning commute was heavily disrupted.
New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority resumed service on the 2 and 3 at Fulton Street at 10:24 am, following this morning's investigation.
The MTA warned that delays were to still be expected, however.
An NYPD anti-terror officer prevents pedestrians to pass, as police seal off area in the financial district around the the Fulton Street
Fulton Street Station is one of New York's busiest commuter hubs and just a short distance from the World Trade Center
There were no reports of injuries but the morning commute was heavily disrupted
In 2017, a would-be suicide attacker set off a homemade pipe bomb in an underground passageway at the Times Square subway station during rush hour, seriously injuring himself.
A year earlier, Ahmad Rahimi, left luggage with two pressure cooker bombs on 23rd and 27th streets in Chelsea.
The one on 23rd Street exploded and injured nearly three dozen people, none of them seriously. The device on 27th Street never exploded.
Rahimi was captured days later after a gun battle with police in Linden, New Jersey. He was sentenced to multiple life terms last year.
Authorities considered Rahimi's plot to be the first jihadist terrorist attack on the city since September 11, 2001.
No comments