HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
PUNA PATROL DISTRICT
LIEUTENANT JAMES KELLY
PHONE: 966-5839
SEPTEMBER 12, 2001
G-80554
MEDIA RELEASE
Puna police evacuated part of Pahoa Wednesday night (September 12, 2001) because of a mysterious black briefcase, and a bomb squad from the Pohakuloa Training Area was forced to blow off its lid to find it was only that — a briefcase.
The incident began about 5:30 p.m. when a Puna resident called Puna police to report that after she left work, she discovered a black briefcase lodged mysteriously against the front left tire of her 1998 Lincoln Continental in a parking lot.
Responding police officers were suspicious of the way the briefcase was lodged against the tire and called an Army bomb squad to check it out.
About 7:30 p.m., members of an Explosive Ordnance Detachment arrived, and after police evacuated the area, the team started tests to determine what was inside the metal briefcase. After the tests failed to determine what was inside, the team blew off the lid. Inside, they found papers and other items, but no explosives.
Pahoa residents were allowed to return about 9:45 p.m. The parked car was not damaged, and police are looking for the owner of the ruined briefcase.
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