Mayor: 5 Devices Found at NJ Train Station

One exploded while robot tried to disarm it
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 19, 2016 12:12 AM CDT
Suspicious Device Found at NJ Train Station
An Amtrak train passes through Elizabeth train station.   (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

A New Jersey mayor says one of five devices found in a backpack near a train station has exploded while a bomb squad robot was attempting to disarm it. Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said that the device exploded shortly after 12:30am Monday, the AP reports. The FBI is leading the investigation and is working to disarm the other four devices. There were no reports of injuries. The mayor, who warns that more detonations are likely, says two men called police and reported seeing wires and a pipe coming out of the package after finding it at about 9:30pm.

New Jersey Transit says service has been suspended between Newark Liberty Airport and Elizabeth. New York's emergency management department says that New Jersey-bound Amtrak trains are being held at New York Penn Station. An FBI spokesman in Newark tells NJ.com that the agency "is aware of the situation in Elizabeth, NJ, and we are responding with our local partners." The discovery of the suspicious package comes a day after an explosion in Manhattan injured 29 people, and an unexploded pressure-cooker device was found four blocks away. (More New Jersey stories.)

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