Karl, the reporters on MSNBC have been saying that the BPD has been all over Boston today.........I wonder if they have an alert?
Thanks for the ping- out of the loop- working....(thank God for FR!)
Devices were found in Seattle, Woodinville and Bothell, according to local police.
The first device was found Tuesday by a Woodinville Public Works Department crew working on a railroad trestle over Highway 202, said Woodinville Police Chief John McSwain.
"Public Works found it and took it down and didn't even bother to call us" because the device didn't appear to be threatening, he said.
Then news of the events in Boston began to be reported, he explained, and then the Seattle Police Department called, conveying information from a marketing company that gave the locations of other devices
McSwain and other officers went out Wednesday and removed three more of the devices from various locations, including an awning at a business, in a mini-mall and in front of another business.
The devices were being kept at the Police Department at Woodinville City Hall, he added, but since the whole affair had been found to be a hoax, no bomb squad was called or other special steps taken. The appearance of the devices also tended to indicate they weren't too sinister, with one officer describing them as a battery, a light and a cartoon character making an obscene gesture.
Three devices also were found in Bothell, at two locations along Bothell Way Northeast, and one near Main Street in the downtown part of the city, police reported. The businesses included Bothell Ski & Bike and the Yakima Fruit Market, both on Bothell Way. Officers acting on information from the Seattle Police Department removed the devices and knew the devices were part of a hoax.
The marketing company responsible for the campaign, Interference Inc., had no immediate comment. A woman who answered the phone at the New York-based firm's offices on Wednesday afternoon said the firm's CEO was out of town and would not be able to comment until Thursday.