This story had a happy ending:
Suspicious truck spurs evacuation
Idling vehicle incites anxiety on anniversary of terror attacks
By Victor Thompson and John A. Torres FLORIDA TODAY
PALM BAY -- All Assaf Ased wanted to do was catch some sleep before delivering a bunch of boxes to New York.
The Israeli citizen did not know that that the load he carried, which included old films washed in a chemical that's also used in gunpowder, would make him the center of a nearly nine-hour ordeal.
Safety concerns about the delivery truck prompted authorities to evacuate hundreds of shoppers and close off San Filippo Drive and Malabar Road Wednesday morning, the anniversary of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center's Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
"I'm moving back to New York from Miami," the 32-year-old Asef said. "About one in the morning, I get too tired, and the rest area was full. So I get off here and I go to the Speedway, and it (was) full too."
Asef said he pulled the mid-sized delivery truck into the 24-hour Walgreens off of Interstate 95 because there was plenty of parking there. He said he left the truck running and slept until police officers knocked on the cab's door about 6:15 a.m.
"I'm not mad. I understand the situation," said Asef, who was allowed to leave about 2 p.m. No charges were filed against him. "I hope the U.S. doesn't have any more attacks."
Palm Bay police Lt. John Sherbert said someone inside Walgreens reported the truck as a suspicious vehicle after it idled in the parking lot all night.
"The driver was tired, taking a break," said Sherbert, who along with city fire and Sheriff's bomb squad personnel coordinated the response. "We did have a . ‚ . dog with bomb training checking the truck and there was just some interest in the container part of the truck."
About 10 a.m., city police officers attending a Sept. 11 ceremony at City Hall arrived at Walgreens to evacuate the store.
Several minutes later, the Burger King east of the store also was evacuated, and employees from both stores huddled along the wall of that restaurant. Police used cruisers and orange cones to block traffic around the store along Malabar Road and San Filippo Drive until about 2:30 p.m.
When the Brevard County Sheriff's bomb squad truck stationed itself behind the Shoppes of Palm Bay to send a robot across San Filippo to the truck, the entire shopping center received evacuation orders.
Sherbert said the bomb squad's robot further checked the truck, but after the machine found nothing, the dog was called back again and found the films.
"The dog had a good hit, two good hits actually, but it wasn't an explosive device," he said. "Those old films contain nitrocellulose, a chemical that's also in gunpowder."
Sherbert said that Immigration and Naturalization Service agents found that Asef was in the process of getting a green card.
"I'm very upset because of the anniversary of what happened," Gerri Clendening of Palm Bay said, referring to the attacks in New York and the Pentagon, while officers investigated the truck. "I'm very edgy today. You know something probably is going to happen."
The expanding evacuation zone also confused motorists such as Al Quattrone, who waited in a line of cars attempting to leave the shopping center.
"They were just saying that Publix was closing," said Quattrone, who heard the news over the supermarket's public address system. "Everything was very hush-hush."
Because of the roadblocks, there was only one way to leave the shopping center safely. Home Depot store manager Donna Evans stood outside of the store with employees as they discussed what to do next.
"We were just asked to leave the store, and that's all I know," Evans said.
"The biggest thing is the inconvenience to a lot of people," Palm Bay Lt. Sherbert said. "But in something like this we have to err on the side of caution."
Thanks to everyone who kept this bumped up.