Police Shut Down Street After Suitcase Found Near

Police Commissioner William Evans said an individual, who they now believe to be Derepentigny, left a suitcase near a Homeland Security vehicle, which prompted a response by the police department’s bomb squad.

The suitcase, which had been left on the ground beside the vehicle earlier in the afternoon – by an unknown man who quickly left the scene – was taken across the street and blown up safely, away from civilians and onlookers. Roads near the site were temporarily closed, she said.

He added x-ray machine scanned the bag and found wires as well as a power source.

Police used a “pack bot” to examine the unattended suitcase on Atlantic Ave. near the Coast Guard Building, NECN-TV reported. The man is not a suspect but it is important to talk to him and know his intension of leaving the suitcase near to the SUV.

There is “nothing to lead us at this time to believe” any explosives were located in the suitcase, said Evans.

Traffic was detoured around the area during the incident, but all affected roads have now reopened.

Armed tactical officers were seen around the area to keep people from coming near the suitcase. “People are safe. There are no threats to the city”. “Unfortunately I think we’re all on a little bit of a heightened alert because of what happened in San Bernardino”.