May 2, 2012
Vol. 91 Issue 48
Bomb scare spurs shopping center evacuation Watch the Daily Titan News in 3
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The Orange County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was called in to investigate a suspicious vehicle parked at a shopping center in Fullerton. dailytitan. com/?p=55429
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LA MAY DAY PROTEST CALMS AFTER CLASH WITH POLICE
May Day protesters marched successfully around Los Angeles, breaking from their designated routes numerous times and coming into brief physical contact with police on West 4th and South Hill streets. Four major groups — the East, West, North and South Winds — were scheduled to converge at West 6th and South Main streets, where they proceeded to Pershing Square. Photos by William Camargo (top left), David Le (top right and bottom left) and Anibal Ortiz (bottom right).
See story on LOCAL MAY DAY PROTESTS, page 2
Evacuation lifted following bomb scare Police clear shopping center after suspicious device found in car
ALVAN UNG & IAN WHEELER Daily Titan
The Orange County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad determined Tuesday that the suspicious device found in a car parked in a Fullerton shopping center was nothing more than an aerosol can wrapped in wires. “They removed the canister. It has been ruled as inert, so it is not a bomb,” said Fullerton Police Sgt. Jeff Stuart. “At this point, they think it is a hoax.” Fullerton police created a 330-foot perimeter, evacuating the majority of the College Plaza shopping center on the southeast corner of Chapman Avenue and State College Boulevard, as well as some residences, after a University Police officer noticed the suspicious vehicle at about 11:30 a.m.
The car’s owner, a male Fullerton resident, was arrested by police and is being held for a 72-hour psychological evaluation, Stuart said. “They’re not sure of his mental capacity or what his condition was, or why he did that. That’s why he’s being questioned at this point,” he said. The battered ‘96 Chevrolet Cavalier was found behind Thai Rama BBQ. The car’s driver door held open with a plastic tube wrapped in a thick, black cable. The car also had a steering wheel lock in place and was covered in trash and graffiti. The device was found in the back seat, police said. Some civilian witnesses said the device was attached to the outside of the car. Paramedics and fire personnel from various departments clustered around an incident command center set up about 200 feet from the car. The bomb squad assumed control
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of the scene, which is standard practice for situations of this nature, Stuart said, while Fullerton and University Police Departments guarded the perimeter. The bomb squad mobilized a bomb disposal robot, which may have been used to extract the device from the car. At around 2:30 p.m., the bomb squad determined that the device was not a bomb. Police, paramedics and fire personnel left the area after a half hour. Police took the device away in a large paper bag. Stuart said officers swept through all buildings within the evacuation area. Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Del Taco, though in the same shopping center, fell just outside the perimeter and were not evacuated. See BOMB, page 3
ZACHARY ROMO / Daily Titan A ‘96 Chevrolet Cavalier, which was left behind a row of businesses in the College Plaza shopping center, was suspected of carrying a bomb-like device, prompting an evacuation of all businesses and residences within a 330-foot radius of the vehicle.