Bomb Scare Leads to Evacuation in Texas

Portions of Houston’s federal courthouse were evacuated and several blocks of the business district were briefly cordoned off Friday after a bomb scare, police said.

Authorities sounded the all-clear a short time later after determining that a suspicious item in the back of a black Ford Bronco parked near the courthouse was only a stereo speaker, police said.

The driver of the vehicle aroused police suspicion when he began running after spotting a courthouse guard. The man was chased down a few blocks away.

A bomb-squad robot was wheeled up to the man’s vehicle to search for explosives after a large package draped in an American flag was seen in back. The stereo speaker was found underneath.

A 31-year old Latino man who had abandoned the truck was questioned but would be released uncharged, police said. He had parked in spaces reserved for federal marshals to keep an appointment in the federal parole office, a court official said.