Update 11:50 a.m.: The suspicious package has been blown up.
Mike Veitenhans just told us (at 9:40 a.m.) that the bomb squad has closed off part of the trail around Green Lake because of a suspicious bag found on the trail.
The bomb squad has closed off the trail near the Bathhouse and the tennis courts on the west side and is using a robot to open the bag. Here’s the bomb squad truck and the robot in the left background.
Here’s the robot closeup.
And here’s the suspicious bag.
Thanks to Mike for the tip and all the photos.
24 responses so far ↓
1 Whopper // Feb 23, 2009 at 11:55 am
Guess they gotta play with all their expensive toys so the Green Lake, running Moms with strollers can live without fear of exploding bags.
2 Neighbor // Feb 23, 2009 at 12:12 pm
So it was a bomb?!? Who in their right mind wants to blow up a lake?
3 Sheila // Feb 23, 2009 at 1:12 pm
No one wants to blow up a lake. If it was a bomb, it was to blow up the people at the lake.
4 Northa85th // Feb 23, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Does Whopper approve of anything/anyone?
Wonder why they thought is was suspicious in the first place. I run ’round GL once a week–woulda just skipped right over it.
5 Neighbor // Feb 23, 2009 at 3:06 pm
No way, Sheila. You are so off the mark. From the photo, the bomb was totally closer to the water than any jogger.
6 Ramblin' // Feb 23, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Heh, walked by the thing this morning and actually stopped to see if its owner was nearby. It looked new, not scuffed or dusty at all. We figured someone would come looking for it and left it be.
7 Fnarf // Feb 23, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Um, what? It’s just to the side of the path, nowhere near the water’s edge.
I’m sure it was someone who stopped to tie their shoelaces and left their bag. They probably blew up someone’s gym clothes.
8 ben // Feb 23, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Huh, somebody’s gonna be pissed at SPD for blowing up their dry clothes when they get out of the lake.
9 SPG // Feb 23, 2009 at 5:01 pm
This is standard operating procedure in a lot of the world. An old coworker of mine had his carry on bag blown up while he was on the phone because he couldn’t understand all the people yelling “Who’s bag is this?” in the local language.
This was almost 20 years ago.
10 I Know // Feb 23, 2009 at 5:48 pm
So WHAT was in the bag after all?
11 SPG // Feb 23, 2009 at 7:00 pm
From the PI:
UPDATE: “Our arson bomb squad blew it up, and it was nothing to be concerned with,” police spokeswoman Renee Witt said. “The streets were reopened, however the walking trail remained closed for an hour afterwards because they wanted to go through it thoroughly.”
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/162587.asp
12 Whopper w/ Cheese // Feb 23, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Clearly Al Qaeda has it in for rollerbladers, stroller moms, and those poor folks who think wearing spandex is a right, not a privilege.
13 jm // Feb 23, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Clearly Al Qaeda’s days are numbered because the Fort Lewis Stykers will be rolling over them soon.
14 jeffo // Feb 24, 2009 at 8:15 am
seems like a big, fat waste of resources.
how much money was spent ‘keeping me safe’?
it’s not the airport, for crying out loud. hardly suspicious.
15 ohnonotabag // Feb 24, 2009 at 9:18 am
“Terrorism is the best political weapon
for nothing drives people harder
than a fear of sudden death.”
Adolf Hitler
16 liz // Feb 24, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Am I the only one who feels comforted by this response? Is an abandoned bag really less suspect in a popular park than in a bus or airport?
17 Whopper // Feb 24, 2009 at 10:10 pm
If I saw this bag, who knows how far my spandex would have ridden up with fright.
18 Kathy Goodwind // Feb 25, 2009 at 9:02 am
I’ll bet it was just a bag full of doggie poop. It’s about time some one did something about all of it.
Whye don’t we get the city to put in a doggie poop composter?
19 Cyclocrossmechanic // Feb 25, 2009 at 12:30 pm
“seems like a big, fat waste of resources.”
How is it a waste of resources?? Are you suggesting that the SPD shouldn’t have a bomb squad in the first place?
How exactly is it a waste of resources if the cops are already on the payroll and the equipment is already paid for? Only expense incurred for this was a few bucks on gas and a shotgun shell for blowing open the bag.
BTW, most terrorist bombings don’t take place at airports so I really don’t get your “it’s not the airport” comment. Come to think of it, where did the bomb go off during the Atlanta Olympics? Oh yeah, in a park. Also keep in mind the largest act of domestic terrorism in the US didn’t take place in a major metropolitan city, it took place in Oklahoma.
20 tinfoilhat // Feb 25, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I think they set up these things occasionally just to keep us at an appropriate fear level.
21 Theden // Feb 25, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Package Was Not A Bomb
Seattle Times Staff: Seattle Times News Services
SEATTLE - A suspicious-looking package left on a park bench near Green Lake ushered in the Seattle police bomb squad yesterday, and police found it to be a harmless package apparently intentionally made to look like a bomb.
The styrofoam box, which had a battery on top, wires protruding out and computer components inside, resulted in the closure of an area in the 5700 block of Green Lake Way North for more than an hour, police spokeswoman Carmen Best said.
A park employee first noticed the package near the running path at the southeast corner of the park about 12:45 p.m., then called 911.
Members of the bomb squad used a mechanical robot to inspect and remotely dismantle the device, Best said.
22 Cyclocrossmechanic // Feb 25, 2009 at 3:47 pm
“a harmless package apparently intentionally made to look like a bomb.”
Huh?? That just makes no sense. Terrorists don’t make bombs that intentionally look like bombs. They make bombs that intentionally DON’T look like bombs. Clearly someones idea of a sick joke.
23 Whopper // Feb 25, 2009 at 6:53 pm
“most terrorist bombings don’t take place at airports ”
No, they like to target the fatties who strut around Greenlake thinking spandex is a right, not a privilege.
24 Dale // Feb 26, 2009 at 5:56 am
Um, Theden, that story is from 1998. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19981219&slug=2789806
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