Magazine insert prompts courthouse bomb scare in Idaho [View all]

[cynatnite]

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - A magazine embedded with a small electronic musical device prompted a security alert and the evacuation of a federal courthouse in southeastern Idaho on Tuesday when mail screeners mistook the parcel for a possible bomb.

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The insert, apparently some kind of promotional material, was "like nothing ever seen before" by the courthouse personnel who first examined it, Pocatello police spokeswoman Diane Brush said.

Darrin Lambert, supervisor of the U.S. Marshals Service in Pocatello, said the item was similar to devices found in musical birthday cards, with wires and other parts that security screeners had not encountered before in a mailing.

He said his agency's strict protocol for such circumstances required an evacuation of the building and immediate vicinity out of "an abundance of caution."

http://news.yahoo.com/magazine-insert-prompts-courthouse-bomb-scare-idaho-000544686.html