At approximately 7:55 am on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 a letter containing a suspicious device was discovered at the US Post Office located at 600 Cross Valley Circle.
United States Postal Service (USPS) authorities then placed the suspicious device in a safe area outside of their facility and called the police. USPS employees were moved from the area to a safe zone inside of the building.
The EPD’s Hazardous Devices Unit (HDU) responded to the scene and deployed their robot to examine the device. X-rays and photographs taken of the device indicated it appeared to be constructed in a manner that was consistent with an improvised explosive device (IED).
In was determined that the safest method of disabling the device was to utilize a disrupter charge on it and render it safe in place. A stand-off pit was dug and the device was placed in the pit by the robot.
Traffic adjacent to the post office was shut down by the EPD when the HDU prepared to render the device safe. HDU members then placed the disrupter charge on the device and remotely detonated the device in order to render it safe.
HDU members then confirmed through the robot cameras and then by visual inspection that the device had been disabled. Remaining fragments were collected and turned over to Investigators with the USPS for further testing and follow up investigation. The USPS resumed its normal business at approximately 12 noon.
The investigation into the origin of the suspicious package will be conducted by USPS Investigators. The USPS Public Information Officer is Adel Valdez and he can be contacted at 502-210-4114.
