The Downtown Crossing MBTA station was evacuated and closed this morning, after T employees reported that a passenger claimed to be carrying a bomb.
As rush hour hit its peak a little past 8 o'clock this morning, transit police responded to the Orange Line's northbound platform at Downtown Crossing. There, they located a man fitting the employee's description. Lt. Detective Richard Sullivan says the man was not arrested, but police took him to Massachusetts General Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
"He was in possession of a box, a cardboard box, that measured about 12 inches by 12 inches. He complied with all requests of the police officers -- he placed the box down on the ground. He was removed away from the box, and in an abundance of caution -- especially because of the world events and all we've experienced here -- the station was evacuated and temporarily shut down."
The station was closed for about an hour and 15 minutes, until a police bomb squad determined the box did not pose a threat. An MBTA spokesperson told WGBH that inside the box were personal items. Sullivan praised the MBTA employees for reporting what they saw.
"I know that it's a big inconvenience for people, but at the end of the day, I think our ridership would prefer we air on the side of caution as opposed to sweeping something like this under the rug."
Sullivan says the suspect remains at Massachusetts General Hospital this afternoon, where he's being evaluated
