Bomb Squad Sent To Highlands Ranch Park As Precaution
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4) - A large police presence Sunday morning at a Highlands Ranch park had residents wondering if another acid bomb had been found.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office sent a bomb squad out to an item found in Paintbrush Park as a precaution but later cleared the scene.
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According to Sgt. Ron Hanavan with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, the suspicious package had papers inside. It appeared to be a box on the bottom with a plastic postal envelope on the top.
"The problem is, it was inside some packaging, so we couldn't physically see it," Hanavan said. "So we had to have our bomb team come out, X-ray it, and go from there."
The suspicious package was found by a sheriff's department patrol that has been doing increased park checks after a child was hurt Tuesday when a device exploded in Dad Clark Park. A second device was found Wednesday at Marcy Park. That device did not go off.
"It's a little scary that they're targeting children," said concerned parent Scott Gereaux, who brought his family to Paintbrush Park for a Sunday game of soccer.
Hanavan said the department handled approximately a dozen calls from citizens for suspicious items on Saturday. None of them warranted the bomb squad's evaluation.
"Today alone we've had at least half a dozen," Hanavan said. "Yesterday, a dozen or more type calls."
While authorities search for the person or people responsible for planting the devices, they're asking the public to stay clear of trash and debris in parks.
"If you see that, stay away, don't pick it up, don't look at it," Hanavan said. "Let us come over and look at it. If you believe it's an emergency, then by all means call 911."
"We're telling our children that any bottles, packages, anything that looks suspicious -- walk away and go tell a parent or an adult," Gereaux said.
