Malden, Mass. : Postal paranoia sparks bomb hoax on First Street

[Ian David]

Postal paranoia sparks bomb hoax on First Street
By Dan Baer/[e-mail]
Friday, March 02, 2007 - Updated: 01:12 PM EST

Malden Police and area bomb squad officials shut down a small area of the Maplewood Highlands neighborhood Friday night after a resident called to report what he believed was a suspicious package.

Authorities closed off all of First Street just after 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23, and urged residents to evacuate their homes, though many chose to stay inside because of sub-freezing temperatures outside.

Bomb Squad officials brought in explosive-sniffing K9 units from Everett, and federal security experts X-rayed the package three times before determining the cardboard box was not threatening, police said this week.

Authorities received reports about the suspicious package from a First Street homeowner, who discovered the box on his front lawn shortly after returning from work at a post office near Malden.

According to police, the resident told police he had received death threats from a postal co-worker with whom he had been involved in a rocky relationship. When he saw the cardboard UPS package laying face down on his lawn with no address label, he told police he became afraid for his life.

Officials said it wasn’t long before they discovered the package contained a product ordered online by the homeowner’s daughter. Police said the package did in fact have a label that was hidden by its placement facing down on the lawn, but they did not say what the package contained.

No charges will be filed in the case, but police said investigators are looking into the threats the victim has allegedly been receiving at his work place.

more:
http://www.townonline.com/malden/homepage/x1675619677