Police officers and a bomb squad have been deployed to inspect three suspicious packages found at a busy subway station in New York City.
The site was evacuated and swarmed by police and emergency personnel during the brief bomb scare.
The NYPD’s counter-terrorism division released photographs of the first two objects, which appear to be pressure cookers that were abandoned on the walkway of the Fulton Street station. A third was discovered soon after, near a trash can on West 16th Street and 7th Avenue.
All three devices were later deemed safe.
Our @NYPDCT Bomb Squad has cleared the devices inside of Fulton Street subway station in Lower Manhattan. They are NOT explosive devices.
Out of an abundance of caution officers have searched nearby stations. pic.twitter.com/Y32I9DFEDf
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) August 16, 2019
The NYPD released photos of the suspect and asked New Yorkers to send in any information they might have.
The NYPD is looking to locate and identify this individual who’s wanted for questioning in regard to the suspicious items inside the Fulton Street subway station this morning in Lower Manhattan. Contact @NYPDTips at #800577TIPS with info — alert a cop or call 911 if you see him. pic.twitter.com/OFTJgPv2sw
— Chief Terence Monahan (@NYPDChiefofDept) August 16, 2019
The Big Apple experiences regular bomb scares and hoaxes. Last year, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) threatened to bomb the New York City subway. A propaganda poster released by the terrorist group shows a man dressed as a tourist wearing a rucksack inside New York’s High Street-Brooklyn Bridge subway station. A bomb with a timer is placed on the ground behind him.