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The “suspicious briefcase” that prompted a tense bomb squad response in front of the Santa Ana federal courthouse Thursday turned out only to contain an old VCR, but deputies now want one answer: “Why?”

The briefcase was tossed to the ground by a man riding by on a bicycle, and he kept on going after dropping the object.

“We’d like to know why he left the VCR behind,” Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. “We’re not going to arrest him. For what? For littering? But we want to know why did you drop off a briefcase with a VCR in it. At this point it’s not a manhunt, but we’re looking for him.”

Police were called to the courthouse at 411 W. Fourth St. about 12:45 p.m. regarding the “suspicious briefcase” left about 30 feet off of Fourth Street in front of the building, according to Bertagna.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad was then summoned, and determined that an old VCR was inside the briefcase, Bertagna said. Surveillance video showed a man on a bicycle dropped it off, he said.

Authorities cleared the scene at 1:45 p.m., Bertagna said.

–City News Service 

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