Authorities Talk To Man Who Caused West Towne Mall Bomb Scare
Law Enforcement Officals Talked To Man Friday Night
Updated: 10:44 am CDT August 29, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- Authorities have cleared the scene and called off an evacuation at part of West Towne Mall in Madison on Friday afternoon after investigating a suspicious package.
SLIDESHOW: See Images From Two Separate Madison Bomb Scares
Madison police said that no bomb was found at the location. Police, including the Dane County Bomb Squad, were investigating an unattended box that appeared to be out of place, WISC-TV reported."It's a brown box, must be like 15 inches long, maybe ten, eight inches high and it's got almost like a decorative lid on it," described shopper Brian, who asked not to use his last name."It was kind of an urn-looking box, like it was a big wooden urn with a handle on top. Anyone who would look at it would think it's out of place," said Madison police Lt. Chris Boyd.
Authorities said they spoke with the man who was seen leaving the area near J.C. Penney's before the bomb threat was reported. They said the man was loading packages into his trunk, but left behind an urn--type container that he had won. He told authorities he left it behind because he did not want it and left it for someone else to take. He also told authorities that he did not intend to alarm anyone.A witness had seen the man drive off and gave Madison police a description of the man's vehicle and license plate.K-9 units detected some sort of odor around the box and a Dane County robot came into investigate the package, but didn't find anything. Authorities only found a few letters and something police couldn't yet make out.Police said that all businesses are now open again.The box was found by a person in the parking lot between the Firestone Tire store and J.C. Penney department store at about 3:20 p.m., police said.Officials said the Firestone store and Olive Garden restaurant were shut down. Firestone workers said that they were given 10 minutes to close and evacuate the building.J.C. Penney salon worker said that the entire store was evacuated except for the salon. An employee at the Kirlin's Hallmark also said that while J.C. Penney was closed, the other stores in the mall including the stores near the J.C. Penney entrance remain open.Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.
SLIDESHOW: See Images From Two Separate Madison Bomb Scares
Madison police said that no bomb was found at the location. Police, including the Dane County Bomb Squad, were investigating an unattended box that appeared to be out of place, WISC-TV reported."It's a brown box, must be like 15 inches long, maybe ten, eight inches high and it's got almost like a decorative lid on it," described shopper Brian, who asked not to use his last name."It was kind of an urn-looking box, like it was a big wooden urn with a handle on top. Anyone who would look at it would think it's out of place," said Madison police Lt. Chris Boyd.
Authorities said they spoke with the man who was seen leaving the area near J.C. Penney's before the bomb threat was reported. They said the man was loading packages into his trunk, but left behind an urn--type container that he had won. He told authorities he left it behind because he did not want it and left it for someone else to take. He also told authorities that he did not intend to alarm anyone.A witness had seen the man drive off and gave Madison police a description of the man's vehicle and license plate.K-9 units detected some sort of odor around the box and a Dane County robot came into investigate the package, but didn't find anything. Authorities only found a few letters and something police couldn't yet make out.Police said that all businesses are now open again.The box was found by a person in the parking lot between the Firestone Tire store and J.C. Penney department store at about 3:20 p.m., police said.Officials said the Firestone store and Olive Garden restaurant were shut down. Firestone workers said that they were given 10 minutes to close and evacuate the building.J.C. Penney salon worker said that the entire store was evacuated except for the salon. An employee at the Kirlin's Hallmark also said that while J.C. Penney was closed, the other stores in the mall including the stores near the J.C. Penney entrance remain open.Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.To find out more on this, visit Channel 3000's Search page.
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