Suspicious Device Temporarily Shuts Down SF Union Square
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A suspicious device forced the evacuation of San Francisco's Union Square and surrounding streets Thursday afternoon.
Police gave the all-clear announcement shortly after 1:30 p.m. Authorities were notified about the object around 11:45 a.m., police said.
According to police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy, an officer working an assignment near Union Square located a backpack the officer determined needed to be treated with caution.
Occupants of businesses around Union Square were told to shelter in place. In addition to the evacuation, a one-block radius around Union Square was shutdown to vehicles and pedestrians.
The bomb squad responded and determined the backpack was not hazardous, said Shyy.
During the incident, eastbound San Francisco Municipal Railway service was not stopping in the area of Market and Fourth streets, according to Muni officials.
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