"suspicious package" found at Fargo post office found to be Chinese takeout

[Odin]

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/printer.cfm?id=165880

Fargo police responded to a report of a suspicious package Tuesday night near the downtown post office.

Postal employees arriving for their work shift noticed an unattended plastic bag on the sidewalk near the post office’s loading dock, said Sgt. Greg Stone. The workers then notified their supervisor, who called police about 8 p.m., he said.

Police evacuated nearby streets and called in a bomb squad member to examine the bag, Stone said. The post office was not evacuated, but workers were moved away from the bag’s vicinity, he said.

A bomb squad robot was called in to move the bag before it was detonated by a water cannon about 10 p.m., Stone said.

“It turned out to be Chinese take-out food,” he said.

The roads were reopened and the post office resumed its normal operations shortly afterward, Stone said.

Over-react much?

[Tattila the Hun]

Not when there are noodles at stake.

[lord of the mark]

youre right.

If someone leaves an unattended bag where they shouldnt, one should use their powers of ESP to make sure theres nothing silly in it before reporting it.

Or one should sniff it first, of course.

I wonder if anyone had a bag ful of Chinese takeout on the trains in Madrid?

Remember - its important to report suspicicious activity or unattended bags, but its MORE important to avoid being embarrassed.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Define suspicious.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

I nominate Odin to inspect all suspicious packages.

[Cort Haus]

how is a bag "detonated by a water cannon"?

[BlackCat]

It's not a riot control water cannon, more like a water jet cutter.

You only want to be in the wrong end of a such if you want to know how it feels to be cut in halfes.

[Flubber]

Taking proper care sometimes means that the "bomb" turns out to be Chines take-out. So what ? I prefer them to err on the side of caution.

Otherwise the report goes like this " The bomb, which killed 6 and injured 23 , was disguised as a bag of take-out food....... "

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Flubber
Taking proper care sometimes means that the "bomb" turns out to be Chines take-out. So what ? I prefer them to err on the side of caution.

Otherwise the report goes like this " The bomb, which killed 6 and injured 23 , was disguised as a bag of take-out food....... "

The bag was ignored by police. The policemen involved are now on administrative leave, pending an investigation.

Meanwhile on the national mall, protestors are blaming the fact that the bag was ignored on the Bush administration, who were looking for an excuse to invade Turkmenistan.....

[Odin]

Originally posted by lord of the mark

Meanwhile on the national mall, protestors are blaming the fact that the bag was ignored on the Bush administration, who were looking for an excuse to invade Turkmenistan.....

[dudemanjack]

If it really was a bomb planted by a terrorist why the hell would he/she leave it in the middle of the sidewalk where everyone can see it? I'm no expert but it seems bombs tend to be hidden.

[Jon Miller]

hidden in plain sight

JM

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by dudemanjack
If it really was a bomb planted by a terrorist why the hell would he/she leave it in the middle of the sidewalk where everyone can see it? I'm no expert but it seems bombs tend to be hidden.

Terrorist bombs rarely have a big sign saying "theis is a terrorist bomb - beware" - they have a tendency to look like something common that you would ignore. Who would care about a used McD pack ? they are everywhere (well, that is actually also terrorism even if they don't carry a bomb)

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Koyaanisqatsi
Define suspicious.

Given the way Chinese food seems to be tainted or otherwise fatal you can somewhat undertand their fear.

[dudemanjack]

Originally posted by BlackCat


Terrorist bombs rarely have a big sign saying "theis is a terrorist bomb - beware" - they have a tendency to look like something common that you would ignore. Who would care about a used McD pack ? they are everywhere (well, that is actually also terrorism even if they don't carry a bomb)

Of course they don't label their bombs. I would assume that if a terrorist wanted to blow up the post office it would make a lot more sense to disguise the bomb as a package rather than put it in a bag on a sidewalk. Putting the bomb out in the open just wouldn't make sense unless your goal was to blow up a random person who picks up the bag.

How often do you ever even see or hear about a bomb before it goes off anyway?