14 DAY TRIAL // A terminal at JFK Airport, the busiest in New York has been evacuated on Sunday, April 21 following reports of a “suspicious bundle.”
According to K Pop Starz, subsequent inquiries revealed that the package was a tube of toothpaste docked in duct tape.
Initial reports mentioned that the suspicious package was wired, but an investigation by the New York Police Department bomb squad revealed that it was harmless.
Capital Bay quoted Officer James Duffy of the local police, informing that the tube turned out to only contain toothpaste.
According to Chris Valens, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, it was left in the luggage area of Concourse B in Terminal 4 sometime on Sunday afternoon.
Airport authorities discovered it at approximately 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) and set off an alarm, prompting the terminal evacuation.
Terminal 4, one of the more circulated at JFK, was off limits to passengers for one hour and a half, until officials confirmed that the threat was neutralized.
The section of the airport was reopened after 5 p.m., when authorities allowed travelers back in. There is no indication on which flights have been affected by the delay.
The incident comes at a time when officials are on alert for potential bomb threats, following the Boston Marathon attacks in which three people have been killed and 170 other have been wounded.
As previously detailed, police have the surviving bombing suspect in their custody, less than a week after the incident.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is recovering from serious gunshot wounds to the throat and leg in a hospital in Boston.
Also last week, a letter laced with poison was sent to president Obama at the White House. The substance on the letter was identified as ricin.