You're absolutely right. Had I seen what appeared to be a circuit board with batteries dangling from a bridge or in a subway station, I would have called 911 too. Better to err on the side of security than ignore it and have it be something devastating. How would someone know that the circuit board wasn't attached to something bigger stashed out of sight? How would one know if the circuit board wasn't equipped to send a signal to a bigger package? There are so many sophisicated ways of blowing people up these days, how, would I, as a common person without any knowlege of such things know that this wasn't part of a potential attack? The only way to find out was to report it to the authorities. I learned a long time ago, that the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Do these same people think that a cop should wait to ascertain whether the gun aimed at him is a toy or the real thing before he reacts? I think they need to wake up.
ATTENTION ALL FREEPERS
DO NOT GO OUTSIDE. THERE ARE SIMPLY TOO MANY THINGS SITTING AROUND UNATTENDED, THAT COULD, PERHAPS, CONCEIVABLE CONTAIN A BOMB, BE LINKED TO A BOMB, OR BE IN SOME OTHER WAY ASSOCIATED WITH BOMB LIKE DEVICES.
STAY BY YOUR PHONE AND CALL 911 IF YOU SEE THE FEDEX GUY DELIVERING A PACKAGE TO YOUR NEIGHBOR. IT COULD BE A BOMB.
OFFICIAL PANIC NOTIFICATION.