The state police bomb squad and other emergency personnel today destroyed an apparent child's toy, but one that had a keypad and an attached note and was thought to be a potential explosive device when it was found on a retaining wall outside City Hall this morning.
Authorities detonated the approximate 6-inch pink, heart-shaped device shortly after 10:15 a.m., some two hours after it prompted the evacuation of City Hall.
Police confirmed that the device was believed to be a children's toy, with batteries and wires inside. But officials state and local police had been concerned about the device on a number of counts. For one, the bomb squad's x-ray of it could not confirm what was on the bottom, or on a portion of the inside. Also, the toy had an attached note reading: "999 Enter" -- as if it were a code for activating a mechanism. The code 999 is also the British equivalent of the 911 emergency code in the U.S., several sources said.
The device drew the attention of state and local police, fire crews and even a representative of the FBI after it was found around 8 a.m. In addition to City Hall, officials also evacuated parts of the Central Grammar housing complex and the Sawyer Free Library, and "secured" the U.S. Post Office at the time the bomb squad destroyed the device. The squad used remote equipment to blow up the device on the site where it was found.
According to City Hall sources and reports from the scene, a custodian found the toy on the wall around 8 a.m. when workers went to raise the flag. City Hall workers — including Mayor Carolyn Kirk — were located to the city annex offices on Pond Road.
For full coverage, look to tomorrow's print and online edition of the Gloucester Daily Times and gloucestertimes.com.
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