Man left undetonated explosive at NYC bus terminal, police say

[March 17, 2017]    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police arrested a man after he left a crude explosive device in a briefcase during rush hour at a busy New York City bus terminal, according to a criminal complaint filed on Thursday. The device did not detonate.

Arsenio Mason, 39, is accused of leaving the briefcase on a chair inside a deli at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bus terminal on Wednesday evening.

The case contained what appeared to be a "flash bang grenade," as well as a knife, bolt cutters and screwdrivers, the Port Authority Police Department said.

Arsenio B. Mason, 39, of Jersey City, New Jersey, arrested in connection to a package left at at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, is shown in this booking photo provided by the New York Port Authority Police Department in New York, U.S., March 16, 2017. Courtesy of Port Authority Police Department/Handout via REUTERS

Police arrested Mason after he returned to retrieve the bag. They say he was carrying methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant, in a pipe.

There has been a visible increase in police officers patrolling the bus terminal, one of the main entry points into Manhattan, in recent months in the wake of deadly attacks on civilians in European cities.

Mason, of Jersey City in New Jersey, is facing charges of possession of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance, according to a complaint provided by the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Mason's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A court set bail at $750,000 on Thursday. Mason is due back in court on March 21.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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