Bomb found in abandoned suitcase at Port Authority

A man was arrested Wednesday after police say he planted a crudely made explosive device at the Port Authority Bus Terminal during rush hour in Midtown Manhattan.

Port Authority Police noticed the luggage at 5:15 p.m. in the terminal’s south wing inside the Deli Plus eatery. The device was removed without incident and brought to a location in the Bronx. It was later detonated by police.

The NYPD said the the suitcase contained what appeared to be a “flash-bang grenade,” a knife, bolt cutters and screw drivers. They also found a fuse assembly, a cardboard tube and black gun powder.

Arsenio Mason, 39, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was arrested at 8 p.m., after he returned to the terminal and asked about the suitcase. He matched the description of the man seen on surveillance video leaving the suitcase at the deli, police said.

Mason was carrying methamphetamine in a pipe when he was taken into custody, police said.

He faces charges of possession of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Mason is considered a fugitive after violating parole in Californiaand leaving the state, police said. He also has criminal offenses in Oregon, Alaska and Washington.

A judge remanded Mason to jail without bail because of his fugitive status. His attorney declined to comment on the charges when asked by the Reuters news agency.