Hazardous-Materials Crew Called to Police Station
Hawthorne police discovered a bottle marked “poison” Wednesday while sorting through explosives and other evidence in a robbery case, and military chemical experts were called in to remove it. No one was injured.
Firefighters were sent to the police station in 4400 block of West 126th Street at 7:40 a.m. after the bottle was discovered in a backpack that had been taken by police Tuesday from the home of a suspect in an attempted robbery, Lt. James McInerney said.
When the poison was found, officers took the bag into the parking lot. No evacuations were required.
A hazardous-materials team and experts rendered the package safe and took it to a lab for testing, McInerney said.
McInerney said that officers found the bottle at the Huntington Park home of one of two men who were arrested on charges of attempting to burglarize a military supply store. He said officers found items such as body armor, weapons and explosives.
McInerney said the vast amount of artillery discovered reminded officers of the North Hollywood bank shooting.
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