NEW YORK --The police bomb squad, responding Friday to a call of a suspicious device inside a parked minivan in midtown Manhattan, blew out the vehicle's windows -- only to find out the item inside was simply stereo equipment, police said.
The incident occurred when police received a 911 call from a passer-by who spotted the device inside a red minivan parked outside 4 E. 67th St., said police spokesman Dennis Laffin. It was a canister about the size of two shoe boxes, with a digital display of changing numbers and some loose wires visible.
"It looked suspicious," Laffin said. "I think anyone would have thought something was strange."
The police bomb squad responded after the 8:22 a.m. call, blowing out three side windows and the back window with a water propelled charge, Laffin said at the scene. A police robot was sent inside the van to take pictures of the device; the photos led police to determine the package was nothing more than stereo equipment.
The van's owner, a Bronx resident, has yet to hear the bad news about his windows.
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