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Boulder Bus Station Evacuated, Suspicious Device Turns Out To Be A Bong

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado bus terminal was evacuated and the surrounding area was briefly shut down Tuesday morning after police received reports of a suspicious device that turned out to be a bong rather than a bomb.

The Boulder Transit Center was briefly evacuated around 6:01 a.m. in the downtown area after the suspicious device was reported to dispatchers, the Daily Camera reports. A security guard at the bus station discovered what he thought was a bomb by a bike shelter, said police spokeswoman Kim Kobel.

The Regional Transportation District evacuated the transit center and police closed nearby streets after the guard described a foot-long plastic pipe that was capped at both ends, the Daily Camera reports. But police soon determined the device was actually a forgotten bong, still holding marijuana.

"It was some kind of either marijuana storage or marijuana smoking device," Kobel said. "There was some marijuana in it."

While Kobel said the device was not intended to scare people amid their morning commute, the plastic capping on the device made it appear suspicious initially, prompting the 911 call from the security guard.

"That was the right thing to do," Kobel told the Daily Camera. "If you don't know what something is, call us so we can get eyes on it."

In January, another suspicious package caused the area around the Boulder Transit Center to be evacuated, although the package turned out to be empty.

-- Benjamin Fearnow

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