USA: UPDATE 1-"False alarm" over rental trucks near Washington.
10/07/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.
(Recasts with false alarm, previous WASHINGTON
ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct 7 (Reuters) - Authorities said two rented trucks that were stopped on Sunday while heading toward Washington on a major interstate highway in Maryland did not contain explosives and the incident was called a "false alarm."
Interstate 270 was closed for about an hour while a bomb-sniffing dog checked out the contents of two Ryder rental trucks, said Cpl. Rob Moroney of the Maryland State Police Office of Public Affairs.
No explosives were found and it turned out the drivers had been hauling stage and sound equipment used earlier in the day during a memorial for fallen firefighters attended by President George W. Bush in Emmitsburg, Maryland, north of Washington, Moroney added.
"We were erring more on the side of caution just in case," Moroney said. "Obviously, the officers and troopers did not want to rush over and pop the door open and have it booby-trapped and blow up."
Sgt. Randy Roberts of the Maryland State Police , added: "There's nothing to it. There were no explosives found - a false alarm."
Both trucks were driven by Hispanic men who did not speak English, Moroney said. Suspicions were raised since state police officers initially could not understand what the drivers were saying about the contents of the trucks, he added.
The trucks were stopped in the late afternoon near Rockville, about 15 miles (24 km) outside of Washington.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks by hijackers that leveled the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon outside Washington, many U.S. law enforcement officials have taken extra security precautions.
Sunday's military strikes by the United States and Britain against targets in Afghanistan increased security concerns.