Biohazard Scare Near Store Leads to Evacuation

Los Angeles police evacuated apartments and businesses for several blocks around a Home Depot store in Hollywood Tuesday night after the bomb squad found a box containing a possible biochemical hazard, police said.

The LAPD blocked off the street and called a tactical alert, which means all officers must stay on duty and cannot leave when their shifts ends.

The Fire Department’s hazardous materials team and the FBI also arrived on the scene.

LAPD spokesman Jason Lee said police were called to the 5600 block of West Sunset Boulevard at 6 p.m. after a “suspicious-looking” blue box with a timer and several wires hanging out of it was found on the sidewalk, next to a palm tree. Inside were vials of an unknown liquid. Police began evacuating people at about 10 p.m.

“Our bomb squad was called,” Lee said. “They think it’s something other than a bomb, possibly a biochemical hazard. . . . It could be a serious health hazard. We don’t want to take any chances.”