Palo Alto Bomb Scare A Hoax

Jan. 25 - BCN -- A Santa Clara County bomb squad determined two suspicious packages that closed part of the Palo Alto transit center today were gift-wrapped bricks, Palo Alto police Sgt. Sandra Brown said.

At 10:06 a.m., after the bomb squad took X-ray images of the packages, they determined them to be harmless bricks and re-opened the Palo Alto transit center, Brown reported.

The incident disrupted transit for more than two hours.

The two brick-sized packages were gift-wrapped like "birthday presents" and there was a "ticking sound coming from the area," Brown said. The packages were on top of an electrical box that seemed to be responsible for the ticking, Brown said.

The report about the packages came in at 7:30 a.m. and by 8:10 a.m. police had closed the transit center, Brown said.

The bus depot and transit center were closed and Valley Transit Authority and Samtrans buses were being rerouted along El Camino Real, Brown reported.

MacArthur Park restaurant and the Red Cross were closed because the packages were directly behind the buildings, Brown said.

Caltrain and Amtrak trains stopped about 200 yards down from the platform and passengers were escorted away, Brown said.

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