Suspicious device in White Plains, N.Y. prompts FBI, ATF and police response after reported explosion
A street in White Plains, New York, remained shut down Monday night after police earlier discovered at least one suspicious device near an apartment building while responding to a reported electrical transformer explosion, officials said.
Police, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, zeroed in on the scene on Odell Avenue, which is closed to traffic due to the investigation.
White Plains is approximately 30 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.
Officers said they realized there was no transformer explosion after getting the call at around 4:30 a.m. Monday. Instead, they found what authorities are calling a suspicious device near 11 Odell Ave., a building where neighbors saw damage to the ground.
Police said one device was rendered safe by the Westchester County Bomb Squad. Sources said the device was dangerous, but not sophisticated enough to be detonated remotely.
FBI and ATF agents also collected evidence from an apartment at 11 Odell and two people of interest were being interviewed.
"As the investigation remains ongoing, no additional details can be provided at this time; however, there is no threat to public safety," the FBI said in a statement to CBS News New York.
Access to the block around 11 Odell has been restricted all day, and some residents sheltered in place.
"It really rocked a lot of the buildings around"
It was a rough night and day for Patricia and Van Brunson. They said they woke up to powerful explosions in an apartment below theirs early Monday morning.
"We thought it was just fireworks," Van Brunson said. "It really rocked a lot of the buildings around.
"Around 11, we was told to leave. We left, we came back, and the cops came back and said, you guys gotta evacuate the [grounds] for your safety," he added.
The Brunsons said they are taking no chances. They are headed to a motel, hoping to come back to safety.
"With everything that's going on in the world right now, with all these wars and everything, you never know. So safety is more important for me and my wife," Van Brunson said.
