Published Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | 1:20 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | 6:18 p.m.
A bomb scare on a bus shut down Interstate 15 for about an hour today between St. Rose Parkway and Sloan, according to authorities.
The bus, with 53 passengers and a driver on board, was deemed safe and the freeway reopened about 1 p.m., about an hour after the incident started, the Nevada Highway Patrol said. The bus appears to belong to a tour company.
No one was hospitalized or reported to have been seriously injured, he said.
Outdoor temperatures were climbing toward 109 degrees and the bus was headed from North Las Vegas to Los Angeles when a passenger called a family member and told her a man on the bus was not letting people off and that he had a bomb, Trooper Jason Buratczuk said.
The bus was pulled onto the side of the freeway about 15 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip when authorities arrived, Buratczuk said. At some point, the man let the passengers off and remained inside, he said.
Police did not approach the bus because of the threat of an explosion and waited for a bomb squad to arrive and inspect the vehicle, Buratczuk said.
The man eventually surrendered, and Metro Police cleared the bus and determined there was no bomb, he said.
Buratczuk didn't immediately identify the man who was arrested and questioned by agents with the FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The man was initially held on unspecified misdemeanor warrants issued this year in Henderson and North Las Vegas.
It wasn't clear if the man would face federal charges.
The driver and passengers re-boarded the bus and resumed their four-hour trip to Los Angeles, Buratczuk said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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