San Jose police

San Jose Police Close Downtown Streets in Response to Suspicious Device

San Jose police shut down about four square blocks in the downtown area near San Jose State University in response to a suspicious device Tuesday afternoon.

The device was later rendered safe, but the response left downtown residents, workers and visitors a little shaken.

"Officers told us to evacuate the building," said Kelley Tidwell, a resident of the apartment complex who was standing outside on the sidewalk near San Carlos Street. "They didn't tell us why, but I did find out from my front office that there was some kind of homemade bomb found somewhere in the building."

At about 2:50 p.m., officers responded to a report of a possible burglary at a storage unit in the 200 block of North Fourth Street, police said. They arrived to discover evidence of a possible burglary as well as a suspicious device. The San Jose police Bomb Squad was called to the scene and made the decision to evacuate the immediate area as a precaution, police said.

"The device was a legitimate looking enough that we called out our bomb unit," San Jose police Lt. Paul Joseph said.

About 200 apartments, as well as nearby businesses, were evacuated. No injuries were reported.

Bomb squad officers reportedly detonated one device about 5:15 p.m. About 5:30 p.m., the device was rendered safe by officers. At that time, all streets were reopened and evacuees were allowed to return to their homes and businesses. 

Several streets near Third and San Fernando streets were blocked off during the response.

Evacuations did not include San Jose State students, and classes were still in session, according to a campus spokesperson.

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