Los Angeles authorities are investigating what is being treated as a terrorist threat, after a masked passenger on a local bus yelled, “Don’t mess with me, I have Ebola!”
The driver of the bus has been quarantined, and the vehicle has been pulled out of service, the Los Angeles Times reports. Meanwhile, the passenger fled the scene and has not yet been identified, according to the newspaper.
Officials at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health told the Times they doubt the passenger has the virus and suspect his claim was hoax. Still, metro officials said the incident is being investigated as a possible terrorist threat and are working with authorities to identify the man through onboard surveillance footage.
The U.S. has been on heightened alert for Ebola, the virus besieging West Africa, since a Dallas nurse last week became the first person to contract the virus on U.S. soil, after treating a Liberian man who arrived in Texas with the disease.
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Write to Elizabeth Barber at elizabeth.barber@timeasia.com