By DON MITCHELL
Associated Press Writer
ARVADA, Colorado- City Hall and a post office were evacuated and a bomb squad was called in after a car carrying chemical tanks was parked nearby, but officials later determined the vehicle was not a threat.
The two adjacent buildings in this west Denver suburb were evacuated after a witness reported that a man carrying a duffel bag had run from the car in the city parking lot shortly before 7 a.m., police spokeswoman Susan Medina said.
The motorist contacted police after seeing television coverage of the scene, where two bomb squad robots and someone in a hazardous materials suit had been deployed. He said he merely left his car after he got tired of waiting for his girlfriend, who was in police offices in City Hall, Medina said.
Propane and acetylene tanks found in the car were related to the man’s construction work, she said.
“This seems to be a rather large misunderstanding,” Medina said. She said the man lives in Arvada but did not release his name.
City spokeswoman Maria VanderKolk said relatively few people were in City Hall when it was evacuated, but she did not have a specific number. Postmaster Vince Fresquez said 70 workers were evacuated from the post office.
Nearby residents had been told of the incident but had not been warned to evacuate.