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Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | 8:39 a.m.

Posted: 7:35 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012

‘Explosive’ cologne causes downtown bomb scare

'Spicebomb' cologne bottle
'Spicebomb' cologne bottle

SEATTLE —

A call to 911 had Seattle police shut down a major downtown Seattle street Monday night for what turned out to be a bottle of cologne.

 

Police said a witness said he saw a man who was acting suspiciously throw what he thought was a grenade into a garbage can outside Benaroya Hall.

 

Yellow crime scene tape and police cars blocked Third Avenue between Union and University streets.  Buses were re-routed, and pedestrians were moved away.

 

Detectives from the arson bomb squad carefully approached the scene and used a machine to X-ray the garbage bin.

 

Investigators said the outline of the item looked like a grenade, so a detective suited up in bomb gear and went to retrieve the possible device.

 

Using a crow bar, he ripped apart the garbage can, sorted through the trash and found the offending item – a bottle of Spicebomb cologne.

 

The cologne bottle looked close enough to a hand grenade to cause a panic and a bit of a chuckle from seasoned detectives.

 

Police looked for man who threw away the bottle.

 

They said he was wearing black clothing, had shoulder- length gray or blond hair and was carrying a green garbage bag. 

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