Posted on 01/31/2007 12:04:30 PM PST by Howlin
BOSTON -- Four "hoax devices" were found at several Boston locations Wednesday, hours after officials detonated a suspicious package on an elevated structure above the Sullivan Square Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station.
The additional packages were found at the Boston University Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge and near the intersection of Stuart and Columbus streets. A device described by officials as a pipe bomb was found in the basement of the Tufts New England Medical Center at 185 Harrison Ave.
A spokesman for the Boston Police Department said that all of the packages appeared to be similar.
"Our device was not an active device. We are still treating the area as a crime scene. There were no injuries. Everyone was evacuated properly, and everyone now back to their locations," Tufts New England Medical Center's Brooke Hynes said.
Mayor Tom Menino said that all of the packages found posed no danger, but the incidents remained under investigation. Storrow Drive eastbound was shut down for a brief time, and the MBTA suspended service on the Red Line and planned to bus afternoon commuters between Kendall and Park Street stations.
Earlier Wednesday, the state police bomb squad was called and detonated the package in Sullivan Square just before 10 a.m. Officials said it contained an electronic circuit board with some components that were "consistent with an improvised explosive device," but they said it had no explosives. They determined that the device was not dangerous, but destroyed it as a precaution.
"We determined that this device, in particular, was not explosive," said MBTA Lt. Sal Venturelli.
He said MBTA police were told about the package by a transit passenger who spotted it on a column that supports Interstate 93. The parcel was located on an elevated structure above the bus way and below I-93 in the Charlestown section of Boston at about 8 a.m.
"This is a perfect example of our passengers taking part in Homeland Security," Venturelli said.
An investigation will be conducted into how the package got there and when, he said.
Train service on the Orange Line between Sullivan Square and Wellington stations was suspended in both directions. No injuries were reported.
The northbound side of I-93 was closed, causing significant traffic backups. Motorists were not allowed to access the highway near Sullivan Square coming up from the south.
And what's all this I hear about Shave the Whales? Don't whales have a hard enough life without worrying about being caught and shaved? Aren't there more important things to worry about than shaving whales?
What's that? Not "Shave the Whales'?
Oh, "SAVE the Whales - not "Shave the Whales"!
Never mind.
In a way the fact that there are this many is good. It means far more than one or two people doing it and large numbers of people can't keep secrets.
What is Shep talking about, Adult Swim -- from soem comedy show?
Good Lord!
My thoughts exactly.
Yes, it looks like a moononite. (From the moon). In the Cartoon, they possess a ray power that projects a blip out at about 5 feet per minute, so it is very easy to dodge. This is a very unfortunate incident. Shep Smith is fit to be tied. He is almost hysterical...
Thanks.
Thank you for the ping, Calpernia.
Just got home from having my cat at the vet all morning and saw the news on Fox. Of course, came here to get the real scoop : )
Paging Jack Bauer...
With all these things being found, it sounds like somebody might have a panel truck and is driving around Boston leaving them off for people to find!
Thanks... I feel so old!
Now we need to figure out if this is a stupid teen stunt, or a dry run made to look like it.
Adult Swim is part of the "Cartoon Network". It shows "grown - up", (cough) cartoons.
You have a good point there.
Three bridges and a hospital.
3 bridges and a hospital? what the heck?
But the threat of terrorism has been made into a big scare tactic by the Bush administration, right? < \Democrat operative>
Amazing. Let's hope someone somewhere has seen something and comes forward. Even if it's a hoax, the perp needs to be spanked...and good.
LOL, you are on the right track for sure.
Some yahoo just called in to Howie Carr saying these guys are heroes because they are showing us just how vulnerable we really are.
IMHO, with the amount of pkgs. , I don't think it was a "simple" teen aged prank.
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