KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasDevice Found on Las Vegas Strip Determined Harmless

Device Found on Las Vegas Strip Determined Harmless

(Jul. 13) Evening -- A section of the Strip is back open Tuesday night after a suspicious device closed Las Vegas Boulevard. And while it was harmless, the situation provided an opportunity for emergency responders.

Throngs of curious onlookers waited and wondered if they were going to hear an explosion. All they knew was there was a possible bomb threat between the Frontier and the Stardust.

Megan Morningstar, visiting Las Vegas, said, "It's kind of scary, because if it happened and it's right next to your hotel."

Ironically, Randy Jackson was wearing a 9-11 shirt. The Las Vegan drove to the Strip worried about his wife who works in a casino. "It can happen anywhere anytime. I figured, well if it happens I want to make sure it didn't happen where she works," he said.

From the time the suspicious device was found, first responders sprang into action. Metro bike cops arrived first. Then a team of officers roped off the area and the Las Vegas bomb squad was called in.

"Whenever we're dispatched to go to a call, we assume it's a dangerous device. You don't know before you get there, this could have been something that was dangerous," explained Tim Szymanski, with the Las Vegas Fire & Rescue. 

Also key is keeping the hotels in the loop. John Bezrutczyk, the Frontier's Chief of Security said, "They asked me to assist with crowd control, send my guys my officers outside, not let anyone out of the building anywhere from the Stardust entrance."

The chiefs of security on the Strip recently participated in a weapons of mass destruction class to prepare for situations like this. And this situation -- while not a real threat -- proved to be a real life training opportunity.

"Every time we go out on a call we learn something, it just helps us to fine tune us to be better," Tim Szymanski said.

The suspicious package turned out to be some sort of radio or communication device that fell off a piece of equipment. But of course, emergency crews had to take all the appropriate security precautions.

If you do observe a suspicious device or package in an odd place, don't hesitate to call police.

(4 p.m.) -- The north end of the Strip is back open between the Stardust and the Frontier hotels after what was thought to be a suspicious device was found near a magazine dispenser.

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue bomb squad has found the device not dangerous.  Traffic is open on Las Vegas Blvd., Convention Center Drive, Cathedral Way, Stardust Drive, and the Frontier's rear parking lot is open. 

(2 p.m.) -- A big part of the Strip is shutdown at this hour after a suspicious device was found in a newspaper stand in the area of Stardust Drive, Convention Center Drive and Las Vegas Boulevard.

The Strip was shutdown just before 2 p.m. this afternoon, which has made traffic in the resort corridor a mess. The bomb squad is on the scene.