An unopened box of toner cartridges created the scare at the support centre near Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in Virginia.
Newport News
Daily Press reported on the bomb scare at the Navy Fleet and Family Support Centre, situated near the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in Newport News, Virginia. The local fire department’s bomb squad and police were “called to assist the Navy with an investigation of a suspicious package” before 9am on Wednesday 4 March, with the box “believed to have been delivered” on Tuesday.
The outside of the box “did not match what was inside”, according to Mark Piggott, a spokesman for the weapons station, and he added that the investigation was launched “after the centre received several phone calls asking if the box had been opened [on] Wednesday morning”. The officials “do not know who made the phone calls”, and the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Service) is currently beginning an investigation into the situation.
The centre itself, along with military housing and “navy assets”, were evacuated during the investigation of the cartridge package, according to Newport News’ Battalion Chief Stephen Pincus, before the package “was determined not to be a hazardous device” and crews “were cleared from the scene” by 11am.
The Recycler reported in October last year on a broken toner cartridge package being treated as a hazardous incident, after an individual got toner dust in their face and was taken to hospital.