Community Corner

Fake Bomb Addressed to Obama Causes Scare at Car Wash

Police responding to a fake bomb addressed to the President shut down Jericho Turnpike in Commack Wednesday, though the package, found in the trunk of a vehicle at the Commack Hand Car Wash, was a training bomb, officials said.

The scare happened when a worker discovered a Rubbermaid box containing an object covered in wires, tape, flares, along with a letter addressed to "The President of America" with an Arabic name in the return address, in the trunk of a Hyundai Sonata they were beginning to detail.

The car wash owner said that the package was addressed to "1400 Pennsylvania Street," which is an incorrect location for the White House.

"I've never seen anything like it except on TV," owner Vincent Rella said.

He immediately called police, who rushed down to investigate the package.

Watch: Police on Fake Explosive – 'Better Safe Than Sorry' 

Suffolk County Police Inspector James Rhoads said that an officer in a bomb suit investigated the package and found it to be a fake device used by a training agency, however he did not know which agency the car owner worked for.

"The owner of the place did the right thing and called us first. I would rather them call us and have it not be real than the other way around," Rhoads said.

The inspector said that Suffolk County Police has contacted the car owner's employer.

"I'm glad," Rella said. "I feel tall today. Everything was OK."


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