Security jitters continued to plague the Southland this weekend in the wake of the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, and authorities continued to take fast, but cautious, action against any perceived threat.
In one of the latest incidents, it took a sheriff’s bomb squad about three hours to determine that a package left in an unincorporated area near Hawthorne was a hoax and not an explosive device.
The hoax determination came early Saturday after the package was discovered at about 10:30 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Tahoe Avenue and 121st Street in the Del Aire area, said Lt. M. Modica of the South Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station.
“It turned out to be just bicycle parts, sprockets, chains, old cables, cartoonish in a sense,” Modica said.
A note attached to the package said it was a bomb, so it was taken seriously until the bomb squad determined it was a hoax, he said.
No evacuations were needed but the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway was shut down for about 10 minutes, said Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The incident was cleared at 1:34 a.m. Saturday.
—City News Service