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Toy boat causes bomb scare in Austintown
By Justin Wier
AUSTINTOWN
A discarded toy boat caught the eye of someone at GetGo on Friday morning and resulted in the gas station being closed for nearly three hours while the bomb squad investigated.
Austintown police received a call shortly after 6 a.m. alerting them to a suspicious package near one of the gas pumps at the GetGo, 5163 Mahoning Ave.
Officers, concerned that it might be an explosive device, roped off the area and called in the Youngstown Police Department Bomb Squad.
The boat was made by taping plastic soda bottles together.
“The way it was put together, it was just enough to make you concerned,” Austintown Fire Chief Andy Frost said.
Police evacuated employees while the bomb squad assessed the situation and took X-rays of the object. Youngstown police Lt. Doug Bobovnyik, head of the bomb squad, said no explosives were found.
While the bomb squad approached the package and began cutting it open, police received a call from the person who placed it there, who said it was a sailboat the caller’s child had made.
“They must have just discarded it there, and it probably didn’t fit in the trash can,” said Austintown police Sgt. Greg Brinsko.
As a result, the GetGo was closed from about 6:30 a.m. until about 9 a.m.
While Friday’s call ended up being a false alarm, Brinsko said notifying the police is absolutely the correct thing to do if you see something suspicious.
“You don’t know what it is,” he said. “It could be nothing, but you never know, and you don’t want to take a chance of injuring yourself or others around you.”
Frost added if the object is at a business, concerned customers can let management know. “They may know what it is,” he said. “If they have concerns, they’re instructed on when to call for help.”