A quick trip to Home Depot on N Dale Mabry lasts two hours as the bomb squad investigates a suspicious bag left near a cart rack.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER and BRADY DENNIS
Published May 7, 2004
TAMPA - For dozens of Home Depot shoppers Thursday morning, a quick trip to grab a few home-improvement necessities turned into one long wait - all for a "suspicious" black bag that turned out to be nothing more than someone's forgotten tools.
Shortly after 9 a.m., Tampa police dispatchers got a call from Home Depot employees concerned about a small black bag they found near the cart rack in the middle of the parking lot at 1712 N Dale Mabry Ave.
Several police cars and the bomb squad responded. The parking lot was cordoned off as the bomb squad sent a robot to take X-rays of the contents of the bag. After they saw the X-rays, bomb squad members and officers closed the entrances into the parking lot and told onlookers and members of the media to move back.
"Since 9/11, people are extremely cautious," said Capt. Hugh Miller. "We would rather come out here and take these precautions and just find some tools, than have somebody lose an arm and Home Depot blow up."
Home Depot shoppers and employees crowded by the store's front entrance to watch the scene unfolding in the parking lot.
Just after 10 a.m., police officers started shooing people away from the windows. A voice came across the loudspeaker.
"We are closing the entrances to the front of the store," it said. "Please move to the rear of the store."
And so the customers and employees, about 150 people, worked their way past the kitchen cabinets and appliances, past the storm doors and two-by-fours.
They congregated in the back of the lumber section by an open cargo door.
Some were angry, wanting to leave. Others laughed off their bad luck.
"I don't particularly care for it, but it's probably necessary," said Helen Colson, standing by her cart full of Periwinkles and Cosmos. "I thought I was only going to be in here a minute."
Like Colson, Gary Byrd was able to smile. He said he works at MacDill Air Force Base and is accustomed to security delays. He'd come with a neighbor to help get parts for her toilet.
"I'm patient, man. There's nothing you can do about it," Byrd said. As the wait grew longer, Tampa police Officer J.M. Kritz came inside to offer his sympathies.
"I know it's a pain in the butt, " he told the crowd. "But it's something we've got to do. It looks like it's real."
Turns out, it wasn't.
The robot used a water cannon to detonate the contents of the bag. The result was nothing more than a boom.
"The only thing inside was a couple of miscellaneous tools and scraps any weekend handyman would have," said police spokesman Joe Durkin. "More than likely, somebody set it down and inadvertently left it. This all turned to be nothing."
But none of the people stuck inside Home Depot for two hours knew that at the time. To help pass the minutes and ease tensions, Home Depot employee Steve Jones shouted above the crowd, asking everyone to look in his direction.
When they did, he snapped a picture.
"You're now part of the Home Depot family," he said. "Welcome aboard!"
