The Bum is Off the Bus

Whatever it was, it took 8 1/2 hours to resolve. One report says the guy may be a "foreign national". When and if there is some half-decent factual reporting on this chinese fire drill you will see it here if I can find it.

Timeline for Portsmouth NH Bus Standoff

Seacoastonline has what appears to be an up-to-date timeline on the Portsmouth, NH, bus standoff.

Hanover Street cleared; robotic devices sent to inspect bus during bomb scare

By Staff reports
news@seacoastonline.com
May 06, 2010 11:41 AMPORTSMOUTH

Five hours after police were called to the area of the High-Hanover parking garage for a report of a possible bomb aboard a Greyhound bus, police cleared Hanover Street of onlookers and media, while one man remained on the bus and robotic devices were sent in to inspect the scene.

Sixteen other passengers walked away from the bus two hours after the initial call, with their hands in the air, down the middle of Hanover Street, flanked by SWAT team members.

By 5:30 p.m., according to Schwartz, police had deployed at least two robotic devices, one of which contained video equipment, to inspect the bus.

"We certainly would like him to get off the bus," said Portsmouth Police Capt. Mike Schwartz of the man that remained on board at 5 p.m.

At approximately 11:40 a.m. Thursday, police and firefighters responded to the area of the High-Hanover parking garage, where they surrounded a Greyhound bus while watching a subject inside. Shortly afterwards emergency responders began evacuating nearby businesses.

Police Chief Lou Ferland said police had received information that there may be a subject on the bus with a bomb.

According to Schwartz, 17 people were on the bus, the driver was not on board during the response, and there had been phone contact with a passenger on the bus, which had stopped in Portsmouth while en route to Boston, Mass. from Portland, Maine.

As the scene unfolded, city police were joined by other local, state and federal agencies including Exeter and Hampton police, the Seacoast Emergency Response Team (SERT), a K-9 unit from Dover, the N.H. State Police bomb disposal unit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), immigration and customs officials and the FBI. At approximately 12:30 p.m. an armored vehicle was called in from Rye.

Police urged people to stay away from the downtown area.

At 1 p.m. Schwartz said police had been talking with passengers on the bus but have not asked or directed anyone to remain there, and that police were not calling the scene a hostage situation. "The call (from a passenger) to us was a concern based on an observation," said the captain. "We're making the situation as safe as possible."

At approximately 1:30 p.m. passengers exited the bus with their hands up, and one man remained on the bus and appeared to be handcuffed.

SERT members gathered the passengers, who appeared to be in handcuffs, in the High-Hanover parking garage before police transported them to the Portsmouth station for interviews by local police and the FBI, according to Schwartz.

By 2:40 p.m., according to Schwartz, police had attempted to establish phone communication with the man who remained on the bus, and stressed that police were not naming anybody a suspect at that time.

At approximately 3:10 p.m., emergency officials were preparing to inspect the bus with a motorized robotic device which, according to Schwartz, did not necessarily indicate the presence of a bomb, but contained video capabilities which could be used for inspection.

Approximately 20 responders were seen exiting a large N.H. Department of Safety vehicle and boarded another bus which drove away from the scene.

State and city officials on scene included N.H. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, Portsmouth Mayor Tom Ferrini, and Father Angelo Pappas, the Portsmouth Fire Dept. chaplain.

Portsmouth High School sophomore Robert Swan said he received a text message about the incident, and that within ten minutes word of the event was all over the school. Swan said all after-school programs were canceled as a precaution, and that many students' facebook pages indicated they had joined onlookers downtown to see what was happening.

N.H. Governor John Lynch, at the Emergency Operations Center in Concord, said in a brief statement that the situation remains fluid and could go on for some time.

Restrictions were put on air travel in the area, which kept television helicopters from flying overhead at closer than 3,000 feet.

According to Schwartz, police had not recovered any type of device from the bus.

As indicated in the blue highlighted paragraph, even with this detailed coverage the facts are confused -- did the passengers have their hands in the air, wear handcuffs, or both, or neither. But it seems significant that the governor thinks this situation "could go on for some time".

Portsmouth Neighborhood Evacuated Man On Greyhound Bus Has "Device"

Part of downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been evacuated because of a report of a device found on a Greyhound bus making a stop between Bangor and NYC. So far I've seen 4 different reports on this, all 4 with different details. Here's what FOX has so far:


New Hampshire Police Investigate Bomb Threat on Bus
Associated Press

DEVELOPING: Police and fire officials are blocking streets in Portsmouth, N.H., around a Greyhound bus after a man reportedly threatened he had a bomb.

The state police explosives disposal unit has responded to the threat Thursday. Police evacuated residents and buildings in the area, including a Hilton hotel where an alarm sounded. A parking garage also has been closed.

The bus had left Bangor, Maine, and was en route to New York City. It was unclear whether the bus was occupied.

CNN has a bit more information on their news site:

Police said the area around Hanover, High and Market streets was closed.

News 9 reported that 17 passengers were still on the bus, but the bus driver had left the bus. There have been reports of a possible hostage situation, but Portsmouth Capt. Mike Schwartz said he wasn't sure why the passengers hadn't left the bus.

A SWAT team was also at the scene, and several businesses in the area were evacuated. The FAA also instituted a 3-mile no-fly zone around the area.

The Associated Press reported that the state explosives disposal unit and FBI were also at the scene.

Despite the heavy law enforcement presence in the area, police were set well back from the vehicle. Yellow caution tape blocked off the streets.

Gov. John Lynch's office said he went to the Emergency Operations Center in Concord and has been advised of the situation.

More Details...

Sources told WBZ's Karen Anderson that a man on the bus was talking on a cell phone in what sounded like Arabic and English.

A woman apparently heard him say something about "a bomb is on the bus."

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

Police have closed streets and evacuated businesses, including a Hilton hotel in the busy downtown area.

Two SWAT teams and the FBI are also on the scene.

This could be serious -- or the guy could have been saying "There's a bum on the bus" and was misheard. (It's happened before.) I am hoping this does not turn out to be a hostage situation.

UPDATED: Apparently the passengers are now off the bus. This WMUR site seems to have the most up-to-date coverage.