Hellertown Suspected Pipe Bomb Safely Detonated

Editor's Note: This article has been updated with additional information from the Hellertown Police Department and . Although it was originally believed that the suspicious item found in Hellertown Saturday morning could have been a pipe bomb, police have since said that it was a piece of PVC pipe filled with birdshot, according to an Express-Times article published Saturday afternoon.

Residents of the area around Front and West Water streets in Hellertown returned to their homes Saturday afternoon, after .

The discovery of the explosive device on the sidewalk near the intersection forced temporary evacuations and the closure of streets in the area.

A officer who spoke to a Patch editor at the scene late this morning said the item consisted of a pipe filled with buckshot, and had no detonation device attached to it.

The device was detonated by a robot deployed by the Bethlehem Police Department Bomb Squad, which responded to 715 Front Street--a two-story apartment building located at the corner of Front and Water.

In a press release issued by the Hellertown Police Department Saturday afternoon, police confirmed that the device was detonated, and said it was examined by members of the bomb squad both before and after its detonation.

The borough police officer said that after the device was found, the area was evacuated and extra precautions were taken to ensure the safety of everyone nearby.

Following the detonation, "residents were informed they could return to there (sic) residence as there was no further problem or safety concerns," the police department said in its press release.

There were no injuries reported as a result of this morning's incident, which remains under investigation by authorities.

A temporary command post was set up at the  building while the response to the bomb scare was in progress, according to a breaking news alert that went out at 9:48am.

Earlier this year, the Bethlehem Bomb Squad used its robot to detonate a , Northampton County on March 19. There were no injuries, and that case is still