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Officers from the New Rochelle Police Department were dispatched to the train station shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, where there were multiple reports of the suspicious man attempting to detonate a backpack he was wearing.
New Rochelle Police Capt. Cosmo Costa said that the responding officers found a man - later identified as Thomas Skoupa - sitting on an outside bench, wearing a nylon pouch with wires protruding from the pouch with several cigarette lighters attached.
When approached by responding officers, Skoupa began activating a small flashlight, turning it repeatedly on and off before he was taken into custody without further incident.
Investigators were able to remove the device from Skoupa’s body, which turned out to be a Walkman wrapped in electrical tape connected with wires. The device was inoperable and there was never a threat.
Skoupa was arrested and charged with a felony count of making a terroristic threat. No return court date has been announced.
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