Bomb scare shuts down Walnut St.

Prof gets suspicious package and CHARLES ORNSTEIN A bomb scare yesterday afternoon closed Walnut Street between 38th and 39th streets for over an hour and led to the evacuation of the Psychology Building at 3815 Walnut Street. The Philadelphia Bomb Squad and Disposal Team was called to the area to investigate a suspicious package sent to a professor, only to find that the cause of the commotion was a coffee mug. University Police responded to a call from the Psychology Building at around 4:30 p.m. when the professor's assistant located a package which appeared suspicious. The professor, who is doing animal research, had been threatened before, and did not recognize the return address on the package, University Police Officer Gary Heller said. "He was subjected to threats before by animal rights groups, so we had to take it very seriously," he said. The Philadelphia Police department was called to the scene, examined the package and immediately summoned the bomb squad, which arrived soon afterward and x-rayed the box. "We took an x-ray and it was determined that the package contained a coffee mug," said Sgt. Robert Garrison, of the bomb squad. After the package was determined to be harmless, it was opened and a letter inside revealed that the mug was merely an expression of thanks for help the professor had provided the sender, University Police Sgt. Larry Salotti said. "With all the problems University's have been having, people should call the police if they see anything suspicious," Philadelphia Police Detective Raymond Stackhouse said. For many at the scene, the scare was reminiscent of a similar situation at Yale University this summer, in which a professor opened a package that turned out to be a bomb. "It could have been the same person whose been sending bombs to other professors, like the one to the Yale psychology department," said College junior Rishona Beck, who is a psychology major. "I'm nervous because we could have been in there." Police believe the Yale incident and one at the University of California at San Francisco – in which a professor received a bomb in the mail – are linked to an individual who has sent such bombs in the past. This summer, professors and staff members were sent a memo outlining criteria which make a package suspicious. According to the U.S. Postal Service, mail bombs can have "unique" characteristics, such as excessive masking tape or string, incorrect titles, no return address and visual distractions. "It was a sloppy package," Beck said. "The addresses were scribbled, there was a lot of tape, and they didn't know who the sender was." College senior Helene Stein, who waiting outside for the building to reopen during the scare, said students must be aware of the potential threats, even at the University. "In light of past terrorist acts that have hit New York, I think we should all be aware that there is a possibility of terrorism, even on our own campus," she said.