PHILADELPHIA — SEPTA Police have arrested a 15-year-old male suspected of making the bomb threats that disrupted afternoon peak hour service for thousands of riders using the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line on Tuesday, March 5.
The juvenile has been charged with making bomb threats, terroristic threats, harassment, risking a catastrophe, criminal mischief, false alarms and false reports, recklessly endangering another person and public nuisance. He currently remains in Philadelphia Police Department custody. SEPTA cannot release his name, as he is a minor.
“The arrest of this suspect was the result of extraordinary police work by SEPTA Transit Police Lieutenant Timothy Maslin and his investigators,” said SEPTA General Manager Faye Moore. “In this era of heightened security, threats such as this are inexcusable. My apologies go out to our SEPTA customers and I’m sure they appreciate the great work of the SEPTA Transit Police Department in making this arrest,” she said.
Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham stated, “The country is at war. We have received information from Tom Ridge that our city could be vulnerable. Bomb threats create fright, panic and hysteria. This is no joke. Make no mistake those who are arrested for making bomb threats, whether they are on a SEPTA train or anywhere else in the city of Philadelphia, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
At about 5:30 p.m. on March 5 SEPTA Police received a telephone call from a male who stated that a man on-board a westbound Market-Frankford Line train said that he had a bomb. The train was stopped at the Millbourne Station and passengers were evacuated from the train. SEPTA and Philadelphia Police searched the train and nothing was found.
Shortly afterwards, a second call was made to Upper Darby Police from a male stating that there was a bomb on an eastbound Market-Frankford Line train. That train was stopped and evacuated at 60th Street Station. Shuttle buses were operated in place of trains between 69th Street Terminal and 52nd Street Station as SEPTA Police and its K-9 unit and the Philadelphia Police Bomb Squad inspected the train. Again, nothing was found. Normal Market- Frankford Line train service resumed about an hour later or about 7 p.m.
While investigating the incidents Lieutenant Maslin, SEPTA Police Investigator Ron Davis and SEPTA Police Investigator John Richardson discovered that the calls were being made from a cell phone. SEPTA Police acquired a search warrant for the records of the specific cell phone involved and the cell phone company released information to them about the owner of the phone. The suspect subsequently surrendered to SEPTA Police and was turned over to the Philadelphia Police Department.