AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Commuter rail service in Austin, Texas, was disrupted when a package containing a cow tongue embedded with nails was discovered on the track, authorities said.
A note and a photograph were found with the package between the tracks in East Austin early Monday, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
As a precaution, Capital Metro shortened the runs of several remaining morning southbound trains and canceled the one remaining northbound train from the downtown station, the newspaper said.
A beef tongue was wrapped in paper, and the meat was studded with nails, John Jones, Capital Metro's interim security manager, said.
There was also a glass jar nearby with an unidentified liquid in it, Jones said. A message on the inside of the butcher paper included a series of names and a series of unpunctuated words: "Against us stop now close the mouth".
Public incidents elsewhere involving displays of beef tongues, sometimes with nails or photos, have been linked with Santeria, a religion that combines aspects of Christianity with traditional West African beliefs. UPI
