Bomb scare at Palisades Center
By STEVE LIEBERMAN AND CATHERINE FOLEY
[email protected]
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: July 20, 2005)
The Clarkstown police evacuated thousands of people at the Palisades Center in West Nyack late this afternoon after a suspicious package with wires was found at the third-floor food court.
The "possible explosive device" was found near or inside the bathrooms near the security office, Clarkstown Detective Stephen Cole-Hatchard said today from the scene. The mall's carousel ride popular with children is near the area.
Rockland Undersheriff Thomas Guthrie said he was told the package contained wires, but that didn't mean it was an explosive device.
"The package had some wires and that made it even more suspicious," Guthrie said.
A mall security officer found the package about 3:20 p.m., police said.
After being told about the package, Clarkstown police began evacuating shoppers with mall security guards. The department called the Rockland Sheriff's Office bomb squad, as well as the Bergen County and state police bomb squads.
The evacuation caused traffic backups with the mall parking lot and roads bordering the mall closed off, including Routes 303 and 59, as well as the entrances to and exits from the New York State Thruway.
"We deemed it appropriate to evacuate the mall at this time after being told about the package," Sgt. Harry Baumann said. "We did this once before and it was horrendous. It should be better this time. I can see a big problem with people getting in and out of there."
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