Greyhound Lines Bus Hijacked in NC; Suspect Taken into Custody

(CBS/WRAL/AP) A gunman hijacked a Greyhound bus headed to Raleigh Thursday night, but the passengers and the driver were unharmed, authorities and witnesses said.

The bus with 35 passengers was headed south on Interstate 85 from Richmond, Va., to Raleigh, Maureen Richmond, Director of Media Relations for Greyhound Lines said. The suspect reportedly boarded the bus in Warren County, N.C.

Richmond says that a short time later the man pulled out a gun and ordered the female driver to pull over. The suspect also apparently told the driver he had an explosive device in his bag, reports CBS affiliate WTVR.

CBS affiliate WRAL reports that the gunman let all but two passengers exit the bus before forcing the driver to continue heading another four miles south on I-85. The bus later turned onto U.S. 1 and stopped at a gas station near Henderson, about 45 miles north of Raleigh. That is where the two remaining passengers and driver were let off the bus. The suspect was then taken into custody after he was hit with a stun gun, North Carolina Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Gordon said.

Gordon said the passengers were at a nearby fire station until another bus could be dispatched to pick them up.

The Vance County Sheriff's Office sent a bomb unit to the bus after the suspect commented that there was a bag with an explosive device on board, Gordon said. The search was continuing late Thursday.

The suspect's identity was not immediately released and authorities hadn't determined a motive.