Mexican Man Accused of Bomb Hoax at Texas Border Crossing

Incident leads to shut down of border crossing in El Paso

Authorities say a 73-year-old Mexican man has been arrested for trying to enter the U.S. with an object designed to look like a bomb in an incident that led to a four-hour shutdown at a West Texas border crossing.

Customs and Border Protection spokesman Roger Maier said Wednesday that agents spotted a rectangular item with cables sticking from it attached to a cellular phone inside a vehicle at the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso on Tuesday.

The driver was arrested by El Paso police, who have yet to release his identity.

The facility was evacuated and the bridge on the U.S.-Mexico border was closed most of the afternoon on Tuesday. The incident ended after a police bomb squad detonated the item.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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