BankOne bomb scare closes campus street

Tanith L. Balaban Arizona Daily Wildcat

The box, which read "A gift for you," ended up containing only hair-care products, but officials at BankOne, 947 N. Park Ave., called police at 1:10 p.m. and evacuated the building to play it safe, said Sgt. Brett Klein of the Tucson Police Department.

According to Klein, the man completed a transaction and aroused suspicions of bank officials because he dawdled in the bank before walking out.

Following the evacuation, police used a robot the size of a small go-kart to inspect and rule out a bomb inside the package, which was about four inches long and left near a lobby water fountain.

"They examine it, see if it's got weight," Klein said. "Then they try to disassemble- safely."

Numerous students and passers-by stopped to watch the robot and police, causing some officers duress as they tried to clear Park Avenue of people.

"Logistically, this is a tough place to deal with all the pedestrian traffic," Klein said.

Justin Marinoff, a comm-unication junior, was in the bank just before the evacuation.

"I heard the word bomb, and I wanted out, quick," Marinoff said.

After the package was ruled harmless, Klein quipped there might be an upside to an actual explosive.

"If it blows up, everyone for two blocks will be rich," he said.

Wildcat reporter Michael Lafleur contributed to this report. Zach Thomas can be reached via e-mail at Zach.Thomas@wildcat.arizona.edu.