PRINTER CAUSES PORT BOMB SCARE

[Anonymous]

Computer printer caused port bomb scare
May 
2007 GALVESTON — More than 100 people were forced to evacuate the Texas
Cruise Ship Terminal on Thursday morning after bomb-sniffing dogs
indicated there could be an explosive concealed in a package.It turned
out to be a false alarm. The FBI ultimately determined that the package
contained nothing more than a combination computer printer and fax
machine and authorities gave the all-clear signal for everyone to
return, said Port Director Steve Cernak and Coast Guard spokesman Adam
Wine.The incident delayed some nearby businesses from opening. An
employee at Willie G’s Seafood Steakhouse, 2100 Harborside Drive, said
authorities didn’t allow employees to enter the building until after
11:15 a.m.

Cernak said the delay was necessary.
“I’m
sure some people were inconvenienced, but it’s better to be safe than
sorry,” he said.Port of Galveston Police officers refused to allow a
Daily News reporter onto the property or to speak with people who had
been evacuated.

Cernak said the chemicals in the printer alarmed the bomb-sniffing dogs.
The
box, addressed to Carnival Cruise Lines at the terminal, was discovered
during a routine sweep of the terminal during preparation for the
Thursday morning arrival of the cruise ship Ecstasy.“The terminal was
cleared of personnel and they stopped unloading people off the crew
ship as a safety zone was established around the area,” Wine said.The
dogs made the discovery about 8:10 a.m. and authorities determined it
was harmless about 11 a.m.The package had been unloaded from a semi
truck into the ship, officials said.The Ecstasy had just returned from
a cruise to the Caribbean.Asked if he knew what had happened to the
cruise passengers, Paul Davis, a shift supervisor for Starbucks in the
100 block of Kempner Street, which is across the street from the site
of the bomb scare, said: “They took them to charter buses and zipped
away.”

[Author]

May 29, 2007 at 2:42 PM