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Posted on Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 12:46 p.m.

Bank on Ann Arbor's northside reopens, 'suspicious package' deemed harmless

By Heather Lockwood

comerica-suspicious-package.JPG

A bank on Ann Arbor's north side was closed due to a suspicious package.

Heather Lockwood | AnnArbor.com

Updated: 2:55 p.m. Monday

Ann Arbor's Comerica Bank at 2665 Plymouth Road has reopened after being evacuated and sealed off this morning when an employee found a suspicious tubular package containing unknown liquids on a counter, officials said.

Ann Arbor Fire Assistant Chief Ed Dziubinski said the liquids inside the package were determined to be "harmless."

The employee discovered the package at about 11:43 a.m. and alerted the bank manager, who called police and evacuated the bank, Dziubinski said.

Firefighters entered the bank and took a photo of the package, which they texted to Michigan State Police experts. The package was described as tubular and containing multiple liquids.

The MSP experts said they'd never seen anything like it, but they ruled out explosives early on, Dziubinski said.

The bank's closure comes as financial institutions in the city are on high alert following two recent bank robberies.

The most recent city bank robbery occurred Oct. 28, when a masked gunman entered the Lake Trust Credit Union on Packard Street and escaped with a bag of money. Exactly one week earlier, two men with a gun fired shots during a brazen early-morning robbery at a Bank of America branch at Packard and Eisenhower Boulevard.

It's unclear whether the incidents could be related.

This developing story will be updated.

Comments

ERIC MEYERS

Tue, Nov 9, 2010 : 2:51 p.m.

Good he deserves to be fired.That was sure a classless act.He should be very proud.

joe average

Tue, Nov 9, 2010 : 1:16 p.m.

Tubular Package = Thermos. Unknown liquid + Coffee. Some poor schmoe got to his jobsite and said D***!.

Gaboo

Tue, Nov 9, 2010 : 8:39 a.m.

How could the state police know from a photo that the liquid was not a danger?

a2junkie

Tue, Nov 9, 2010 : 6:19 a.m.

It doesnt make any sense was the container labeled at all was there a note. I bet some woman that carries a travel container with shampoo and conditioner accidently left it there while going through her purse looking for her check book.

TinyArtist

Tue, Nov 9, 2010 : 1:54 a.m.

Hold on, nonyo. Maybe something was labeled rubbing alcohol, but it could have been robbing alcohol.

LaMusica

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 9:56 p.m.

So...this package was just left there? And no one knows who left it? Since it was during business hours, isn't there some kind of surveillance tape?? I would think, being a bank, there would have to be. The tape should be able to show who left this package on the counter... I'll be curious to see what was inside, if that information is released.

jns131

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 9:17 p.m.

But wait, it is not Thursday. Yet. Drama Thursdays.

nonyo

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 8:34 p.m.

It was rubbing alcohol, you pansies.

cibachrome

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 6:11 p.m.

The country, especially this section of the State, has become a ghetto of cowards who expect the Government to address and solve evenly, every type of problem and situation. It seems to be working, too!

Greggy_D

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 5:22 p.m.

"what has this country become?" A country filled with citizens that are scared of their shadows.

ozzer

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 4:43 p.m.

@Ian: what has this country become? Filled with paranoid conspiracy theorists, if we're to believe you. I, for one, do not.

Ian

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 3:49 p.m.

All the fear mongering has put everyone on the edge. Look into the facts and you will realize you are being fooled. Fear is used by governments to manipulate the public. It is the oldest trick in the book. No wonder people willingly accept the dangerous naked body scanners at airports and do not mind being groped by TSA agents. What has this country become?

djm12652

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 2:50 p.m.

I would say the bank closed due to a suspicious container with unknown, and possibly dangerous contents...no because of recent robberies at other locations...which had nothing to do with this incident other than act as filler info in the article.

Heather Lockwood

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 2:17 p.m.

This story has been updated to include the bank's address.

Dorchester

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 2:14 p.m.

Yes newsman..the location is next to Kroger and McDonald's in NE Ann Arbor... The bank is taped off but there is no traffic issue right now.

dayo13

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 2:09 p.m.

Couldnt you give us the name and location of the bank? I dont want to get tied up in blocked off roads or anything and some people may go to the bank today that shouldnt go to this one.

Jeff Renner

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 1:47 p.m.

Shouldn't this story include a location? You know - who, what, where, etc. "Ann Arbor's north side" isn't very specific.