Crime & Safety
Times Square 'Suspicious Package' Was Just Garbage, Police Say
The NYPD evacuated the area surrounding the Marriott Marquis while a bomb squad investigated.
Photo via ptc555/Instagram
MANHATTAN, NY — A bomb squad for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) rushed to the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square to investigate a "suspicious package" around 1:45 p.m. Monday.
Nearly two hours later, at 3:30 p.m., investigators determined that the item was in fact a piece of garbage, according to the NYPD.
"We've just been given the all-clear by the NYPD," a spokeswoman for the Marriott Marquis told Patch.
The hotel spokeswoman said one of the NYPD's bomb-sniffing dogs originally alerted police to the object, which was located in front of the hotel at 1535 Broadway, near West 45th Street.
Pedestrians in the area surrounding the hotel were evacuated while the NYPD investigated, she said.
The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) was also called to the scene to help investigate.
In the end, though, investigators determined that the package was "just a piece of garbage," an NYPD spokesman said. He declined to elaborate.
.@NYPDnews Police Activity: Expect #traffic delays & presence of
— NYCEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) March 28, 2016
emergency personnel near West 45th St & Broadway, MN. Use alternate routes.
So our hotel has been evacuated and now we'll never get our luggage and miss our flight because… https://t.co/ncCTAYZaEo
— ZZ (@ptc555) March 28, 2016
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