Masked Man Threatened To Blow Up Orange Line Train, Police Say
BOSTON (CBS) – A Boston man is facing charges after police say he put on a mask and threatened to blow up an Orange Line train Wednesday morning.
MBTA Transit Police said a man dressed in black and wearing a Guy Fawkes "Anonymous" mask made the threats on board an outbound train between Downtown Crossing and Tufts Medical Center station. Several riders called 911 when they heard the threats, police said.
"He was making threats, and people were very uncomfortable," Transit Police Lt. Richard Sullivan told The Boston Globe. "He made references to blowing up the train.''
Officers met the train at Back Bay station, and video posted to Twitter shows armed law enforcement asking passengers if they had seen anything suspicious. Trains were delayed for about 20 minutes.
The man was taken into custody in the afternoon, and police said they are familiar with him. Authorities said there is currently no threat to the T.
Joseph Johnson, 30, of Boston will be arraigned in court Thursday for making a false bomb threat, police said.
"There were no physical items found which would corroborate his alleged threats,'' Sullivan told The Globe.
Police have surveillance video of the suspect but are not releasing it while the investigation continues.
"A clear message must be sent; behavior and statements such as exhibited by Johnson will not and cannot be tolerated on the MBTA," Sullivan said. "We apologize to anyone who may have been inconvenienced by this morning's incident."
Anyone who may have heard the threats or seen man, described as about 6 feet, 2 inches tall and thin, is asked to contact police.
