Police examine suspicious package, determine it's harmless

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Norman police say a suspicious package left on a trash can at the University of Oklahoma turned out to be a harmless lunchbox. <br/><br/>An OU staff member who feared the unattended

Tuesday, October 18th 2005, 8:17 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Norman police say a suspicious package left on a trash can at the University of Oklahoma turned out to be a harmless lunchbox.

An OU staff member who feared the unattended bag might contain explosives called the OU Department of Public Safety about 5:15 P-M yesterday.

OU police contacted Norman police, whose Hazardous Devices Unit set up an X-ray machine next to the pail and determined that the insulated lunchbox didn't contain a threat.

Technician David Freudiger says there was nothing in the pail but an empty sandwich bag.

Officers blocked traffic between Brooks Street and Boyd Avenue and cordoned off an area around Burton Hall while Hazardous Device Unit technicians evaluated the lunchbox.

Freudiger says the number of calls about suspicious packages has increased since OU student Joel Henry Hinrichs the Third detonated an explosive device October first, killing himself near the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.