CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's headquarters in uptown Charlotte was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after police found a suspicious package and called in the bomb squad.
The bomb squad was brought in to investigate "out of an abundance of caution," police spokeswoman Jessica Wallin said. "An alert employee spotted the package," CMPD said on Twitter.
"There was no phone call or threat," police said.
At about 8:30 p.m., a robot removed what CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano called a "suspicious device" from the building. That happened after a bomb dog "alerted on the package," according to a CMPD tweet. "Will be rendered safe at remote location," another CMPD tweet said.
The device contained a cellphone, flashlight and bulb, Charlotte Observer news partner WBTV reported.
The suspicious package was sent to CMPD via FedEx with no specific name on the package, just to "CMPD," the station reported.
The building was evacuated shortly after 4:30 p.m. and some streets near the building were closed. Police later moved CMPD staff and media a block farther away from the headquarters, to East Trade and South Caldwell streets. The headquarters and streets were closed until after 8 p.m.
Police said 911 services would not be interrupted during the incident, according to WBTV.
Pastor Bruce Little and a flock of 20 from Miracle House of Hope in Charlotte processed up South Caldwell Street toward CMPD headquarters during the incident. It was a coincidence, as Little and his faithful had planned on Monday to protest outside the headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.
"We are out here, we want to find out what kind of resolutions are we coming to to avoid conflict in light of the incidents that just took place," Little said with a bullhorn to police at the scene, referring to the recent fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. "Where's the accountability?"
