Michigan Avenue Reopened After Suspicious Package Deemed Safe
UPDATED: 4/30/2013 - 2:16 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For the second day in a row, Michigan Avenue was shut down near the bridge over the Chicago River, as police investigated a suspicious device.
Police said a suspicious object was found late Tuesday morning in the 400 block of North Michigan Avenue.
The bomb squad used a remote-controlled robot to inspect a suspicious package taped to a flag pole on the plaza between the Wrigley Building, 410 S. Michigan Av., the Realtor Building at 430 S. Michigan Av.
Suspicious Package Closes Michigan Av
Upper and Lower Michigan Avenue was shut down between Illinois Street and Wacker Drive while the bomb squad investigated, police said. The area was reopened around noon, after police determined the item was not dangerous.
After the robot took the package off the pole, an officer in a bulky anti-explosive suit dismantled the device.
A manager at the Walgreens store in the Realtor Building said police had the store evacuate customers, and then employees, while police were checking the device.
Oquinn Holmes, who works in the Realtor Building, said he was told not to leave the building while Michigan Avenue was shut down.
"I would say over the last 45 minutes, they told us we couldn't leave. They didn't want anybody out on Michigan Avenue," he said. "They said that there was a possible bomb threat."
Holmes said that's life in the big city.
"Maybe somebody's trying to play a game, but they're going to react to it, regardless. That's all part of being safe these days, I guess," he said.
On Monday, Michigan Avenue was shut down near the Chicago River for about two hours, after a suspicious package was found on the Chicago Riverwalk below the Michigan Avenue bridge. Lower Wacker Drive was also closed while police checked out that package on Monday.
That package turned out to be a bottle of drain cleaner.
