Duffel bags with rocks, metal triggered bomb squad in Pasadena

A pair of abandoned duffel bags prompted a bomb squad response Friday in Pasadena, but no threat was found.

Police were dispatched at 1:11 p.m. on a report of property found on the northeast corner of Colorado Boulevard and Arroyo Parkway, said Pasadena police Lt. John Mercado.

The items were first spotted about 8 a.m., but were not initially thought to be a potential threat, Mercado said.

When officers arrived, they found two personal-sized duffel bags lying on the sidewalk, one of them padlocked and the other containing what appeared to be metal shavings, the lieutenant said.

A safety perimeter was established, the intersection was closed to traffic and a sheriff’s bomb squad was called in to investigate, he said.

They determined the bags contained rocks and pieces of scrap metal. The all-clear was given just after 3 p.m. and the intersection was reopened soon after, Mercado said.

— City News Service