Train held at station as police seek man Amtrak passengers ordered off before continuing on to Rutland; no suspect found Monday, December 31, 2007 By Michael Goot (Contact) Gazette Reporter
SCHENECTADY — Passengers aboard an Amtrak train destined for Vermont were delayed at Schenectady station for more than an hour Sunday evening while police searched for a person wanted for questioning by the New York Police Department. “The Amtrak Police Department received a call from New York City police indicating that they thought a homicide suspect might be on board the train,” said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero. The train — Amtrak 291 Ethan Allen Express — left Penn Station earlier in the day and was headed to Rutland, Vt. , with about 125 passengers. People disembarked from the train in Schenectady at about 6:15 p.m. and went downstairs to the lobby or outside the building. “They told us to get off the train right away,” said Albert Sweat Jr., who is from Essex Junction, Vt., and was headed back from a vacation to visit relatives in Poughkeepsie. “They didn’t tell us what was going on at all.” Derick Melander of New York said he and other passengers sat on the train for about 10 minutes. Then, train officials told passengers to leave their baggage on the train and to head downstairs. Passengers talked on their cellular phones or chatted among themselves as they watched police enter the station. “They said they’d let us know when to get back on,” said Andrew Weprin of New York. Schenectady Police spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen said a total of seven police officers responded to the scene at about 6:15 p.m. Authorities believed that this person might be aboard even though he was not listed on the passenger manifest. “We were looking for a particular individual that may have had a gun and that person was not on the train,” he said. Kilcullen said the people were told to get off because police initially did not know who they were looking for. “We let everybody off the train to make sure we conducted a thorough search,” he said. Romero said some passengers were asked to show their identification. Police found nothing and cleared the scene just after 7 p.m. and passengers were on their way at about 7:10 p.m. Neither Kilcullen nor the NYPD could provide further information as to why authorities were looking for the man.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the individual for whom the police were searching was already in Schenectady. Wonder if they reviewed the passengers who boarded the train for the outbound route?
I must commend the police departments (New York City PD and Schenectady PD) for their cooperation in trying to locate the "wanted" individual.