Police closed a portion of Merilind Avenue near Irving Primary School Monday afternoon after a caller reported seeing a suspicious roadside package. Though the package proved to be nothing more than an empty suitcase, police chose to err on the side of caution. School buses and parents coming to Irving School were told to make their pickup on the other side of the school, on South 11th Avenue, while police waited for a bomb-sniffing dog from the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office to check it out.
The entire affair lasted less than 45 minutes, from the time the call came in at 2:21 p.m. to when a sheriff’s officer opened the bag and found nothing.
“It was just an empty suitcase,” said Police Lt. Thomas Hammill, who was at the scene. “In today’s day and age, we just didn’t want to take any chances.”