Eagleton Elementary School in west Denver was placed on lockout for about 90 minutes Friday morning as the city’s bomb squad investigated and cleared a suspicious box placed on a vehicle nearby.
A man was arrested in the incident.
Denver Public Schools spokesman Will Jones said the district alerted parents to the situation. “All the kids are safe and all the staff are safe.”
Jones said the vehicle was about a block from the school, which is near Hooker Street and West Ninth Avenue.
Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said officers requested the bomb squad after coming across the vehicle near Eighth Avenue and Hooker. Authorities were called to the scene about 8 a.m. on a report of a suspicious-looking box, with an anti-police message on it, that was sitting on the hood of a parked car.
“The investigation revealed the box did not contain explosives or pose a continuing safety threat, and the scene was cleared,” Schepman said. “Denver Police have arrested a (man), who owns the involved vehicle, and he is being held for investigation of possession of a hoax device, a felony.”
Police said the Denver District Attorney’s Office will make a final determination on what charges the man could face.
His name hasn’t been released.
update: Suspicious vehicle scene at 8th Ave/Hooker St has been cleared — there at no ongoing safety concerns. .
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice)
At about 10 a.m., Denver police cleared the scene and said on Twitter “there (are) no ongoing safety concerns.”
The incident remains under investigation, Schepman said.
