Over $20,000 Donated to NJ Men Who Called Cops About Train Station Bombs
[url=]People have come together in a big way to help out two men who potentially saved many lives by alerting police to bombs that were left at a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. [/url]
A GoFundMe page for the two men has more than doubled its goal, raising over $20,000 this week.
Lee Parker (above), who is homeless, found the heavy backpack near a garbage can Sunday night and quickly realized it was no ordinary item.
Parker, 50, - who was looking for a bag for his belongings - said he noticed wires sticking out and showed it to his friend, Ivan White.
White said the men initially started to leave with the bag before he realized what they were carrying.
"We started walking and I put the bag down and looked inside it one more time and said, ‘This is a bomb. We need to go get the police,'" White told CBS News.
"I don't like to think about what could have happened," Parker told Associated Press.
"I'm just so blessed and glad it didn't. I still have my nine lives, I guess, and I'm going to keep trying to live them well."
A device inside the bag detonated while a bomb robot attempted to disarm it. Police suspect the devices were meant to go off during the Monday morning commute.
Police say the bag was left by Ahmad Khan Rahami, who was charged with also planting bombs that exploded Saturday in Manhattan and Seaside Park, New Jersey.
Rahami, who lived in Elizabeth, was arrested Monday in Linden, New Jersey, after a shootout with police.
The GoFundMe page noted that White lives on a fixed income and that the proceeds will be split three ways with the Elizabeth Coalition for the Homeless.
The group is working on finding permanent housing for Parker, who is in search of a job and needed a bag to bring with him to work.
One donor wrote: "People who would otherwise have been killed or injured are walking, laughing, breathing today because of their actions. Thank you for starting this fund raiser; I feel privileged to contribute to the men and also to the homeless organization."
[url=]People have come together in a big way to help out two men who potentially saved many lives by alerting police to bombs that were left at a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. [/url]
A GoFundMe page for the two men has more than doubled its goal, raising over $20,000 this week.
Lee Parker (above), who is homeless, found the heavy backpack near a garbage can Sunday night and quickly realized it was no ordinary item.
Parker, 50, - who was looking for a bag for his belongings - said he noticed wires sticking out and showed it to his friend, Ivan White.
White said the men initially started to leave with the bag before he realized what they were carrying.
"We started walking and I put the bag down and looked inside it one more time and said, ‘This is a bomb. We need to go get the police,'" White told CBS News.
"I don't like to think about what could have happened," Parker told Associated Press.
"I'm just so blessed and glad it didn't. I still have my nine lives, I guess, and I'm going to keep trying to live them well."
A device inside the bag detonated while a bomb robot attempted to disarm it. Police suspect the devices were meant to go off during the Monday morning commute.
Police say the bag was left by Ahmad Khan Rahami, who was charged with also planting bombs that exploded Saturday in Manhattan and Seaside Park, New Jersey.
Rahami, who lived in Elizabeth, was arrested Monday in Linden, New Jersey, after a shootout with police.
The GoFundMe page noted that White lives on a fixed income and that the proceeds will be split three ways with the Elizabeth Coalition for the Homeless.
The group is working on finding permanent housing for Parker, who is in search of a job and needed a bag to bring with him to work.
One donor wrote: "People who would otherwise have been killed or injured are walking, laughing, breathing today because of their actions. Thank you for starting this fund raiser; I feel privileged to contribute to the men and also to the homeless organization."
