The mall was evacuated as police and firefighters investigate a suspicious package in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland. News4’s Juliana Valencia reports.
A mall in Prince George's County, Maryland, was evacuated less than an hour before opening, after a suspicious package was found Wednesday morning.
Police cars and fire trucks could be seen at the Iverson Mall shops on Branch Avenue and Iverson Street around 9 a.m., as those inside were evacuated from the area.
The focus of the investigation was the Bank of America building where authorities got a call about the suspicious package. According to Assistant Fire Chief Carroll Spriggs, the evacuation took place when the responding bomb squad personnel saw "items that were concerning to them."
"What patrol officers initially observed was a suitcase sitting next to a countertop, and then just beside that, there was a small clock, and we were unable to determine initially whether there were wires coming from the back of the clock to the suitcase," Spriggs said during a press conference.
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A robot with a camera attached could be seen as authorities used it to investigate the suspicious package. Bomb techs could also be seen entering and exiting the building.
After the bomb techs looked at and x-rayed the suitcase, they determined that no explosives were present. The suitcase only contained "personal items," Spriggs said.
Iverson Mall does not open until 10 a.m., meaning members of the public were not among those evacuated.
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An employee of one of the shops told News4 that the evacuation began with a knock on their door.
"I was doing markdowns of full prices, and a security [guard] knocked on the back door and told us to evacuate, that it was a bomb threat," the employee said. "And I was the one that had to go tell everybody to evacuate. Now we're just waiting, to see what's next, if we can go back inside to start working again or if we're just going to be out here."
An all-clear was issued for the area around 11:30 a.m.
Police and fire department bomb team members are investigating the identity of the person who left the suitcase and clock behind.
Roads from Iverson Street to 28th Street were blocked off by police during the initial investigation.
