- Police evacuated one of the busiest transit hubs in New York City during Friday morning rush hour after finding three suspicious rice cookers.
- Authorities released photos of a man – since reportedly identified as 26-year-old Larry Griffin – who they want to locate and speak to regarding the incident.
- NYPD said the man is considered a person of interest, not a suspect, at this point.
- The man in the photos is wearing an Amazon Prime Day 2018 t-shirt, and it’s unclear whether the shirt was only made available to Amazon employees or can be purchased by members of the public.
- Amazon declined to comment.
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New York City police are looking to locate and question a man photographed wearing an Amazon Prime Day 2018 shirt after rice cookers were left Friday at one of the city’s busiest transit hubs, leading to its evacuation during morning rush hour.
NYPD posted photos on Twitter on Friday afternoon of an individual “wanted for questioning.” The man in the photos is sporting an “Amazon Prime Day 2018” shirt.
The NYPD is looking to locate and identify this individual who’s wanted for questioning in regard to the suspicious items inside the Fulton Street subway station this morning in Lower Manhattan. Contact @NYPDTips at #800577TIPS with info — alert a cop or call 911 if you see him. pic.twitter.com/OFTJgPv2sw
— Terence Monahan (@TerenceMonahan) August 16, 2019
The man in the photos has since reportedly been identified as a 26-year-old man from West Virginia named Larry Griffin. Griffin’s father told NBC4 New York that his son has been panhandling in New York.
One of New York's busiest transit hubs was evacuated Friday morning after police said two rice cookers were found in the subway complex, and a third was found further uptown in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. Police determined the "suspicious packages" were safe and not explosive devices, but the incident caused major delays for the thousands of commuters making their way to work Friday morning.
At a press conference Friday afternoon, police said they were looking to identify and question the individual wearing the Amazon t-shirt, who was spotted on transit surveillance cameras. NYPD said the man is considered a person of interest, not a suspect, at this point.
Amazon did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment on whether the shirt worn by the person of interest was an official Amazon shirt, who was eligible to purchase Prime Day 2018 shirts, and whether the person photographed is a current or former Amazon employee.
A 2018 blog post from a clothing company says Amazon looked to provide an estimated 120,000 Prime Day 2018 t-shirts to staff members "in order to spread awareness of Prime Day and get all staff members excited and involved."
T-shirts with similar Prime Day 2018 designs have been sold online. Business Insider has viewed Instagram posts showing Amazon employees sporting Prime Day 2018 shirts with a similar design to the one worn by the man in the NYPD photo.
Contact the NYPD with any relevant information at @NYPDTips on Twitter or 1-800-577-TIPS.