A suspicious package investigated last Friday evening was found to be a lunch bag that was dropped from a school bus by a student, according to a release.
Witnesses alerted authorities after a subject was spotted tossing the package into the area where it was found in front of Hanby Elementary School on State Street, the release said.
The subject was detained for questioning and later released.
Investigators verified the subject’s claim that the subject had picked the package up and tossed it onto the sidewalk to clear the street.
A remote robot was used to observe and detonate the package from a mobile command post.
“In situations like this, we try to treat it as a public threat,” Westerville Police Chief Joe Morbitzer said.
The Columbus Fire Department Bomb Squad, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Westerville Police Division and members of the Otterbein Police Department responded, according to Morbitzer.
Local businesses and homes within the area were evacuated, and the area of State Street from Walnut to Main Street was closed during the investigation, according to the WPD.
City Manager David Collinsworth said it seemed like “a whole lot of nothing.”
At the time of the initial investigation, authorities believed that the contents of the package were likely harmless, according to Morbitzer.
Collinsworth said a few administrators from Hanby Elementary School were evacuated and that everything was fine.
To read the police report detailing the scare, check out the State Street Blog.
