Abandoned suitcase causes stir

It turned out the suitcase was empty.
BOARDMAN -- A stretch of U.S. 224 was shut down for about 30 minutes Saturday afternoon while the Youngstown Bomb Squad detonated an abandoned suitcase in the TJ Maxx parking lot.
Sgt. Brian Habeger of the Boardman Police Department said the suitcase was initially considered suspicious but it turned out to be empty.
He said an employee of TJ Maxx, 527 Boardman-Canfield Road, noticed the suitcase outside the store's entrance, and out of concern for employees and customers, moved it to the middle of a parking lot. The employee then called police.
"We then called the Youngstown Bomb Squad who came out with a device to investigate the suitcase," Habeger said. The police officers roped off an area surrounding the suitcase, and members of the bomb squad detonated it.
First response
Harbeger said police responded to the scene at 2:22 p.m., and everything was cleaned up by about 5 p.m. He said about a mile of highway was closed between Eisenhower Drive and Applewood Boulevard.
A manager at TJ Maxx said it was against company policy to comment on the incident. However, Habeger said he advised the employee of proper procedures for future reference.
"We want you to keep away from it and call us immediately," he said.
Not serious
Employees at nearby Best Buy said it caused a commotion, but it didn't seem to be that serious.
"You still wonder," said Justin Waugh, 19, of Austintown, who watched things unfold with his co-worker Brandon Bakker, 20, of Cortland. "To drive by and see a bomb squad and a guy in a big suit, you just never know."