Rail activity at New York's Penn Station came to a halt Sunday after a bomb scare. The scare turned out to be a false alarm and service was restored about an hour later on Amtrak, commuter trains and the New York City subway.
The incident took place after a man allegedly threw a backpack at an Amtrack agent and told the agent it was a bomb according to Marissa Baldeo, a spokeswoman for New York City Transit.
Service was disrupted on Amtrak, the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit and the Seventh and Eighth Avenue subway lines. The disruption lasted but a few minutes until the incident was deemed a false alarm.
A suspect, later identified as 43-year-old Raul Claudio, was arrested on Sunday. He will be charged with making terrorists threats and falsely reporting an incident. Both charges are felonies that carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
The Long Island Rail Road, the New York City subway and other commuter systems have instituted a policy of random searches of packages and bags. Thus far, no other incidents have been reported.
