The Columbus Police Department called in assistance from Columbus Air Force Base and the Tupelo Police Department Friday night in response to a bomb scare.
Streets near the River Hill Chevron on the corner of Main Street and Third Street North were closed for approximately two hours after a suspicious package was reported by an employee at 6:30 p.m.
The CPD taped off the area and called for a bomb-sniffing dog from Columbus Air Force Base to inspect a suspicious box left near the gas station”s dumpster. A bomb squad was also requested from Tupelo.
After the bomb dog arrived on the scene and did not detect explosives, a call was received from a freezer repair man who had worked at the Chevron earlier in the day. The repair man informed authorities the box contained a defective timer which he had replaced.
He discarded the box next to the dumpster because the dumpster was closed and locked.
CPD Public Information Officer Terrie Songer reported the Tupelo bomb squad was informed of the situation while en route and returned to Tupelo without stopping in Columbus.
While the episode caused a minor disruption in traffic, Songer summed up the CPD”s response as “better safe than sorry.”
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