Backpack mistakenly taken for a bomb in SF today

[kitkit201]

Source: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f...le/archive/2005/07/18/BAbackpack18.DTL

(07-18) 14:36 PDT San Francisco (SF Chronicle) --

An investigation into a backpack left in a newspaper rack snarled downtown traffic in San Francisco for 90 minutes today, sending pedestrians and motorists on complicated detours.

A woman spotted the green backpack on Cyril Magnin Street at about 12:20 p.m. in a rack dispensing the free satirical newspaper "The Onion," thought it was odd and reported it to a police officer standing nearby.

"In an abundance of caution we decided to take all measures to check it out," said police Lt. Mike Biel. So investigators cordoned off an area from Ellis Street on the north to Mission Street on the south. Market Street was closed between Fourth and Sixth streets, and BART and Muni Metro trains ran through the Powell Street station without stopping.

A bomb squad detail determined that the package did not contain explosives and deemed the area safe shortly before 2 p.m.

Pictures: http://www.photokit.net

Enjoy!