Carbondale, Ill-- SIU issues emergency warning because of a suspicious package

SIU issues emergency warning because of a suspicious package

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University put it's emergency warning system to the test when a suspicious package showed up on campus.

Wednesday, a man walked into classroom 121 at SIU's Lawson Hall catching the attention of the professor and students. "They saw a guy come in wearing a suit, and left this bag, and left. They thought it was suspicious and so the police were called and the building was evacuated and they encouraged nearby buildings to evacuate as well," said SIU Spokesman Rod Sievers.

Meanwhile the SIU Department of Public Safety sent out a mass e-mail, alerting students that a "suspicious package" had been found in Lawson Hall. Alerts were also broadcast through campus emergency notification system radios.

As it turns out, the duffle bag in question posed no danger at all. "It turned out to be a 60 pound bag of sand he was going to use in a class presentation and just didn't want to carry it around campus, so he walked in and set it down and didn't tell anybody," said SIU staff member Jim Foerster.

More:
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=6429669&nav=8H3x

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