Syracuse, N.Y. ― A bus passenger reported to have a suspicious package kicked off a tense 5-hour standoff with police Saturday at the Syracuse bus/train station.
When the report came in at 7:35 a.m., Syracuse police and state police rushed to the station in force. They closed the station and blocked off roads near the station. They brought in a robot and a mobile command center.
Busses and trains were not allowed to stop at the station. Some people waited in the snow with their luggage, hopeful to still catch their train or bus.
Officers could be heard asking a woman on the bus to come out with her hands up. They asked her to get off her phone and follow the robot.
The standoff didn’t end until about 12:30 p.m.
It turned out a person on the bus was fiddling with a charger and a cell phone, said Lt. Matthew Malinowski, a Syracuse spokesperson. The person was cutting wires and messing with wires on the bus, he said.
In the end, the woman came out of the bus and the standoff ended peacefully. Police did not say if the woman asked to get off the bus was the same person on the bus with the charger.
The bus and suspicious device were inspected, police said. During the incident several people were taken into custody and released, police said. There were no charges filed, Malinowski said.
Police did not explain why the woman would not get off the bus or why the incident took so long.
Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or [email protected].
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