Suspicious package found on Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks; area blocked off

Police officers blocked off a swath of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks on Sunday night after a passerby noticed a possibly suspicious package left on the street, authorities said.

The package -- said to be a purse by one officer on the scene -- was noticed about 6:30 p.m., and police were flagged down soon thereafter.

The bomb squad was notified, but by 8 p.m. it was still unclear whether they were on the scene, said Sgt. John Buckley of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Motorists were routed around the stretch of Ventura between Sepulveda Boulevard and Noble Avenue as authorities investigated.

Officers at the scene said they doubted that the package posed any danger to residents or to businesses at the nearby Sherman Oaks Galleria.

"This is a real nothing," said one officer. "Just an old lady in panic mode."

-- Robert Faturechi

Comments

[Matt Rosenberg]

I'm disturbed by the final comment from an LAPD officer in this story ("This is a real nothing," said one officer. "Just an old lady in panic mode."). Either the LAPD wants citizens to report suspicious packages or they do not. It was the LAPD's decision to deploy the bomb squad and close the street, not the reporting party. It would be nice for LAPD to clarify -- do they want a vigilant public or not?

[dirk]

good drugs at the senile home i guess