For 2nd time in 5 days, Staten Island homes evacuated for "suspicious packages"

[Ian David]

UPDATE: Suspicious package no cause for alarm
Posted by Staten Island Advance June 28, 2007 12:36AM
Categories: Breaking News


For the second time in five days, a suspicious package left by a vehicle forced the evacuation of a Staten Island neighborhood.

However, even though the threat discovered last night underneath a car in New Springville turned out to be false, cops were taking no chances after the real pipe bomb discovered Saturday afternoon in Great Kills.

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Cops shut down Richmond Hill Road between Richmond Avenue and Country Drive East, while Emergency Service Unit officers cordoned off the area as a member of the Bomb Squad retrieved the package.

Nearby, firefighters from Engine Cos. 154 and 162 stood ready with water-filled hoses.

Houses in the immediate area were evacuated, leaving residents to watch the activity from the surrounding street corners.

"They told me there was a bomb scare and that we had to move as soon as possible," said Medhat Khalil, 46, who was evacuated with his wife and their two kids, 4-years-old and 8-months-old.

By 8 p.m., the bag had been safely removed and the road was reopened to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

"We thought it was really something after what happened in Great Kills," said Denise Lynn, 56, who lives in the apartment building at 80 Richmond Hill Rd., located across the street from where the suitcase was spotted. She watched from the parking lot, as did other building residents. "These buildings are fire proof, but not bomb proof."

More:
http://blog.silive.com/advanceupdate/2007/06/update_suspicious_package_no_c.html


Yes, the monsters are due on Maple Street any moment now...