SEATTLE — A call to 911 had Seattle police shut down a major downtown Seattle street Monday night for what turned out to be a bottle of cologne.
Police said a witness said he saw a man who was acting suspiciously throw what he thought was a grenade into a garbage can outside Benaroya Hall.
Yellow crime scene tape and police cars blocked Third Avenue between Union and University streets. Buses were re-routed, and pedestrians were moved away.
Detectives from the arson bomb squad carefully approached the scene and used a machine to X-ray the garbage bin.
Investigators said the outline of the item looked like a grenade, so a detective suited up in bomb gear and went to retrieve the possible device.
Using a crow bar, he ripped apart the garbage can, sorted through the trash and found the offending item – a bottle of Spicebomb cologne.
The cologne bottle looked close enough to a hand grenade to cause a panic and a bit of a chuckle from seasoned detectives.
Police looked for man who threw away the bottle.
They said he was wearing black clothing, had shoulder- length gray or blond hair and was carrying a green garbage bag.
KIRO
