Jackson – Traffic was the victim in a bomb scare Monday afternoon that ended with no problems in downtown Jackson. More than one bystander said it was “like watching the news,” as pedestrians waited outside the Wells Fargo Bar and other businesses. Jackson Street Department workers directed traffic around the staging area on Broadway, between City Hall and Bank of America. In the middle of the street, authorities placed an abandoned backpack suspected to be a bomb. Bomb squad and city street department workers piled sandbags and a steel plate around the backpack, and a bomb squad member placed a small explosive charge next to the suspected bomb, then ran the wire to a safe distance for detonation. About 10 minutes later, authorities ordered traffic controllers and pedestrians away from plain sight of the object, and the fired the charge. The bomb expert then dug through the sandbags and emptied the contents of the backpack. Jackson Police Chief Scott Morrison was at the scene, and when the all-clear was given, Councilman Keith Sweet rounded the corner of Broadway and Water Street to look at the backpack and sandbags up close. Natural gas to the area had been turned off as a precaution before the charge was detonated. Jackson Police Department Captain Christy Stidger said “actually, it turned out to be nothing. It was a backpack with clothing and miscellaneous items” in it. She said it was detonated with a charge containing water, which “opened up the backpack” so they could see the contents. The backpack was found at about 12:30 p.m. Monday, when 2 Amador County Sheriff’s Deputies saw a male dressed in black stuff an item in the bushes beside City Hall. Stidger said: “We’ve had threats in the past, so we had to follow procedures.” She said a robot was used to remove the backpack from the bushes. It was placed on Broadway Street, then the bomb squad and city crew set up a blast guard. Traffic, closed on Highway 88, was then stopped on the reroute roads of Main and Water Street, in the perimeter JPD and authorities had set up, until the detonation was done. After the small explosion, at about 3:30 p.m., Stidger said there were “negative devices” in the backpack. Traffic then started to flow through Main Street, bumper-to-bumper, including a large fuel tanker truck and several logging trucks. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Last modified on Friday, 04 September 2009 02:06
Jackson – Traffic was the victim in a bomb scare Monday afternoon that ended with no problems in downtown Jackson. More than one bystander said it was “like watching the news,” as pedestrians waited outside the Wells Fargo Bar and other businesses. Jackson Street Department workers directed traffic around the staging area on Broadway, between City Hall and Bank of America. In the middle of the street, authorities placed an abandoned backpack suspected to be a bomb. Bomb squad and city street department workers piled sandbags and a steel plate around the backpack, and a bomb squad member placed a small explosive charge next to the suspected bomb, then ran the wire to a safe distance for detonation. About 10 minutes later, authorities ordered traffic controllers and pedestrians away from plain sight of the object, and the fired the charge. The bomb expert then dug through the sandbags and emptied the contents of the backpack. Jackson Police Chief Scott Morrison was at the scene, and when the all-clear was given, Councilman Keith Sweet rounded the corner of Broadway and Water Street to look at the backpack and sandbags up close. Natural gas to the area had been turned off as a precaution before the charge was detonated. Jackson Police Department Captain Christy Stidger said “actually, it turned out to be nothing. It was a backpack with clothing and miscellaneous items” in it. She said it was detonated with a charge containing water, which “opened up the backpack” so they could see the contents. The backpack was found at about 12:30 p.m. Monday, when 2 Amador County Sheriff’s Deputies saw a male dressed in black stuff an item in the bushes beside City Hall. Stidger said: “We’ve had threats in the past, so we had to follow procedures.” She said a robot was used to remove the backpack from the bushes. It was placed on Broadway Street, then the bomb squad and city crew set up a blast guard. Traffic, closed on Highway 88, was then stopped on the reroute roads of Main and Water Street, in the perimeter JPD and authorities had set up, until the detonation was done. After the small explosion, at about 3:30 p.m., Stidger said there were “negative devices” in the backpack. Traffic then started to flow through Main Street, bumper-to-bumper, including a large fuel tanker truck and several logging trucks. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
