Portsmouth, NH – Bomb Threat on NYC-bound Greyhound Bus Was ‘Misunderstanding’; Two Charged

Portsmouth, NH – A person close to the investigation says the passenger on a Greyhound bus at the center of a daylong bomb scare in Portsmouth, N.H., was a foreign national who was too scared to get off the bus.

The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he as not authorized to speak publicly, said the bomb scare was sparked by another passenger who thought she overheard the non-English speaking rider mention a bomb and called 911.

The person said the passenger is unlikely to face criminal charges. No explosives were found. But Police say there will be criminal charges against 2; 1 for refusing to get off, 1 for obstruction. Police say a Lewiston, Maine, man was charged with refusing to get off the Maine-to-New York bus, and a New York City man was charged with obstructing officers.

Both are to be arraigned in Portsmouth later Friday.

U.S. Attorney John Kacavas confirmed the passenger was from Africa.

The 911 call Thursday morning prompted authorities to evacuate buildings and streets and surround the Maine-to-New York bus. The other 16 passengers and the driver got off safely.

No explosives were found on the bus.

David Rabitor, a police dispatcher, said early Friday that the bus had been taken from the scene, and that all nearby roads and buildings were reopened. The bus wasn’t impounded.

The odyssey involving the Maine-to-New York bus began Thursday around 11:15 a.m. with a 911 call about a man on a bus with a bomb, police said. Authorities evacuated buildings and streets and called the bus passengers out, but one man refused to leave.

The man, wearing camouflage pants without a shirt, stepped off the bus with his hands high over his head at 8:45 p.m., after hours of negotiations. He then went to his knees before soon getting up and appearing to follow orders from police to walk away from the bus.

He was taken into custody and was being questioned, but the case is not terrorism-related, Portsmouth Police Chief David Ferland said at a late-night news conference during which he refused to answer questions.

Several federal agencies had responded to the scene. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Harold Ort said only that there was an “ongoing issue” and that ICE was helping the investigation.

Throughout the day, police kept the curious at a distance and gave little information of what was happening. They said they established a way to communicate with the remaining passenger but wouldn’t give details.

Passenger Danielle Everett, 20, of Poland, Maine, said she didn’t see anything suspicious on the bus.

“It really wasn’t any big deal,” said Everett, who was met at the Portsmouth police station by her concerned father.

The all-clear was given about 11:15 p.m., when police reopened a nearby parking garage and roads and allowed those who had been evacuated from nearby buildings to go back in, Rabitor said Friday morning. It wasn’t clear what time the bus was taken away by Greyhound, he said.

Sources told CBS station WBZ-TV that a man on the bus was talking on a cell phone in what sounded like Arabic and English when a woman reportedly heard him say something about “a bomb is on the bus.”

The woman told the bus driver, who pretended there was a mechanical problem with the bus and pulled over in Portsmouth. The driver then called police, WBZ-TV reported.

The passengers left the bus separated by a couple of minutes each and carried no purses or bags. Most held their hands aloft as they passed officers with their weapons drawn. Police were interviewing the driver and questioning the only person left aboard.

The passengers were screened individually when they got off the bus — much like an airport security check — and were to be taken to the Portsmouth police station. None appeared to be injured as they left the bus; Schwartz said one was taken to a hospital because of a medical condition.

The state police explosives disposal unit and the FBI were on the scene, and restrictions were put on air travel in the area, which kept television helicopters from flying overhead at closer than 3,000 feet.

The bus was parked with its flashers on, between a municipal parking garage and the Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel, garage and other area businesses had been evacuated, and streets have been closed.

A bus from Boston was being sent to Maine so the passengers could continue their trip, Richmond said.