Oct 6, 2009 9:04 pm US/Pacific
2 Bomb Scares Keep SFPD Bomb Squad Busy
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / BCN) ―
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San Francisco robotic bomb units investigate the package found near Union Square.
CBS
Bomb squads were called to two locations in San Francisco on Tuesday after suspicious items were discovered - but neither turned out to be explosives, authorities said.
One of the two high-profile incidents occured near Union Square, prompting police to shutdown Post Street between Grant and Kearny at 12:48 p.m. for about an hour.
Police and firefighters also evacuated Gump's, a high-end retailer, located at 135 Post Street.
Someone saw a man placing a suspicious package into a news rack at the intersection of Post and Kearny streets, SFPD Sgt. Wilfred Williams said.
The witness approached some firefighters who were in the area on an unrelated call, and the firefighters contacted police, Williams said.
Bomb squad robots were used to remove the device and examine it.
Shortly after 2 p.m., police determined the package was harmless and the area was reopened to traffic. Williams said the item placed in the news rack was a shopping bag. It contained some items but none that posed a threat, he said.
The incident occurred just hours after a bomb scare at the State Building at 350 McAllister Street. The bomb squad was called to investigate a report of a suspicious package that turned out to be an empty suitcase.
Polk Street was also shut down between McAllister Street and Golden Gate Avenue during that scare that happened about 10:30 a.m.
The suitcase was spotted near an elevator in the building's secured underground garage, California Highway Patrol Officer Shawn Chase said.
A San Francisco sheriff's bomb-sniffing dog inspected the suitcase and the SFPD's bomb squad then X-rayed it and determined it was empty, Chase said.
No evacuations were ordered and the bomb squad left the scene by 12:15 p.m. The owner of the suitcase had not been located, Chase said.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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