San Diego Union-Tribune staff, others evacuate after suspicious package spotted

[steven36]

The San Diego Union-Tribune and other businesses were evacuated Wednesday morning after a stack of suspicious looking packages was spotted in front of the building they all share in downtown San Diego, police said.

 

 

A police lieutenant reported the boxes, which were situated on top of a trash can, about 8:15 a.m., San Diego police Officer Billy Hernandez said.

 

Reporters at the paper said they were told by Jeff Light, the editor-in-chief, about 8:35 a.m. that police were asking them to evacuate.

 

Kate Morrissey, an immigration reporter at the paper, said she saw officers putting tape around the boxes, but she didn’t think anything of it because the coffee cart near by was still open.

She’d been at her desk for about five minutes when she was told to go downstairs.

 

She described the boxes as priority mail packages positioned near an orange pump.

 

“If you think of what Wiley Coyote would push down on to make things explode — it looks like that,” she said of the pump.

 

A hazardous materials team was sent to investigate and several blocks of 6th Avenue were closed.

 

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[knowledge-Spammer]

is usa under attack ?

[nir]

False alarm! 

[steven36]

San Diego Union-Tribune staff, others briefly evacuated after suspicious packages spotted

 

 

 

A downtown San Diego building that houses the San Diego Union-Tribune and other businesses was briefly evacuated Wednesday morning after a stack of suspicious looking packages was spotted near the front doors, San Diego police said.

 

A bystander flagged down a San Diego police lieutenant after spotting five boxes on a table in front of 600 B Street about 8:15 a.m., police said. The building houses law firms, co-working, media and technology companies. Sen. Kamala Harris and the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department also have offices at the address.

 

The discovery quickly prompted the closure of several busy blocks. But about an hour later, after officers X-rayed the packages, police determined they were filled with everyday items.

San Diego police Lt. Kevin Wadhams said the boxes contained: one shoe, two children’s books, one football, one empty bag of chips and one hat.

 

Police said their response was precautionary, considering the discoveries that were made across the country. On Wednesday, the Secret Service intercepted a series of suspicious packages containing potential explosives that were sent to Hillary Clinton and President Obama. CNN also reported a suspicious package was sent to its building in Manhattan.

 

“Out of an abundance of caution, we take these measures,” Wadhams said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

 

 

After reviewing surveillance footage from cameras in the area, police determined the boxes were dropped off by unknown suspect about 1:45 a.m.

 

Reporters at the paper said they were told by Jeff Light, the editor-in-chief, that police were asking them to evacuate about 8:35 a.m.

 

Kate Morrissey, an immigration reporter, said she saw officers putting tape around the boxes, but didn’t think anything of it since a nearby coffee cart was still open. She’d been at her desk for about five minutes when she was told to go downstairs.

 

She described the boxes as priority mail packages positioned near an orange pump.

 

“If you think of what Wiley Coyote would push down on to make things explode — it looks like that,” she said of the pump.

 

She said a number of other floors below her, including several occupied by WeWork, a shared workspace company company, were also evacuated.

 

A hazardous materials team was sent to investigate the boxes and several blocks of 6th Avenue were closed.

 

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