Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/military-july-dec01-philadelphia_10-19 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Military Explosives Found in Philadelphia Bus Station Nation Oct 19, 2001 6:00 PM EDT Officials said the explosives and 1,000 feet of blasting cord were found in a suitcase at the Greyhound Bus Station that had been checked into a locker on Sept. 29. “If it had gone off, it would have blown up the whole terminal,” Sgt. Roland Lee, a Philadelphia police spokesman, told Reuters. “It was very disturbing because that location is heavily traveled.” Police said there was no threat of explosion during the removal process because no detonation cap was attached to the explosives. The soap-sized chunk of puttylike material was discovered by a terminal employee who sorts through unclaimed luggage to give clothing to homeless organizations, the Associated Press reports. Bomb squad officers and investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were called in once that discovery was made. C-4 was developed for the U.S. military in the Vietnam era and used by the U.S. during the Gulf War, the AP reports. C-4 was used in the USS Cole bombing last year that killed 17 U.S. sailors — an attack U.S. officials allege was planned and executed by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.
Officials said the explosives and 1,000 feet of blasting cord were found in a suitcase at the Greyhound Bus Station that had been checked into a locker on Sept. 29. “If it had gone off, it would have blown up the whole terminal,” Sgt. Roland Lee, a Philadelphia police spokesman, told Reuters. “It was very disturbing because that location is heavily traveled.” Police said there was no threat of explosion during the removal process because no detonation cap was attached to the explosives. The soap-sized chunk of puttylike material was discovered by a terminal employee who sorts through unclaimed luggage to give clothing to homeless organizations, the Associated Press reports. Bomb squad officers and investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were called in once that discovery was made. C-4 was developed for the U.S. military in the Vietnam era and used by the U.S. during the Gulf War, the AP reports. C-4 was used in the USS Cole bombing last year that killed 17 U.S. sailors — an attack U.S. officials allege was planned and executed by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.