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Sandra Yi Reporting A part of Salt Lake's TRAX line was shut down Thursday after an operator found a suspicious backpack on board. Police say it had all the components of a bomb.
Shirley Harris: "We hear more about things happening in New York and L.A., in large cities like that. We don't expect that here in Salt Lake."
The operator was doing a routine sweep of the train just after 11 am when he found the backpack. It was suspicious enough to call police.
That forced UTA to shut down the Sandy Civic Center stop for several hours.
Since TRAX started running in 1999, there have been two or three supicious incidents, all of them false alarms. But this time, they may have been dealing with the real thing.
For many commuters, TRAX is a valued option to driving. But the end of the line in Sandy was a crime scene for five hours Thursday. UTA shut it down after the TRAX operator's disturbing discovery.
Justin Jones/UTA: "When he looked inside the backpack, he saw wires, different boxes."
Police say the device had all the components of a bomb, and attached to it was a concerning note.
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake Valley Health Department says the device may have had a mercury switch. She says minute levels of mercury were detected, but at no time was there a risk to public health.
The bomb squad used a robot to look at the backpack, but a water cannon safely tore the device apart. Police are investigating if it was set to explode.
Sgt. Victor Quezada/ Sandy Police Dept.: "It turned out good that no one was hurt. But it still concerns us that somebody left this type of thing on the train. It doesn't matter where, but it's still frightening to know that somebody can actually do this."
Commuters were also alarmed.
Amram Musungu: "You can't be too careful. There's so much happening in the world, and one person can make a whole difference on the whole community."
One commuter, who rides TRAX every weekday, says she rarely sees uniformed security on the trains and would like to see more. But she won't allow this incident to scare her away.
Shirley Harris: "I think it's something we don't expect here in Salt Lake City, and we certainly don't want it to happen here in Salt Lake City."
Police are looking for a person of interest in this case. He's described as a man in his late 20s, with long, brown, scraggly hair. He's skinny, 6 feet tall, with a dark complexion. He was wearing camouflage.
He approached a UTA employee at the Delta Center Stop in Salt Lake and said he left something on the train. He gave the name Dave Messenger.
He also went the UTA lost and found, looking for whatever he left behind.
Police don't know if the device belonged to him, but they would like to talk to him. If you have any information, call Sandy Police.
