Bomb squad dismantles suspicious item in Uniontown
Uniontown police chief Jason Cox coordinates with state police as they work to cordon off an area where a suspicious device was discovered Wednesday at the intersection of Fayette and Morgantown Streets in Uniontown.
A member of the Allegheny County Bomb Squad walks across Fayette Street after dismantling a suspicious device that was discovered in a trash can of a Uniontown service station.
Uniontown police Detective Donald M. Gmitter (right) is assisted with the collection of evidence from the scene where a suspicious device was discovered and later removed by the Allegheny County Bomb Squad.
A remotely operated robotic vehicle from the Allegheny County Bomb Squad moves materials into place as their prepare to remove a suspicious device that was discovered in a trash receptacle at the Shell Station at the corner of Morgantown and Fayette Streets in Uniontown.
A remotely operated robotic vehicle from the Allegheny County Bomb Squad removes a suspicious device that was discovered in a trash receptacle at the Shell Station at the corner of Morgantown and Fayette Streets in Uniontown.
The state police fire marshal, along with the state police forensics investigation unit, were called to assist at the scene of an explosion that damaged a Uniontown business Tuesday night. Uniontown police are investigating.
Officials from the Allegheny County Bomb Squad responded to a location in Uniontown Wednesday after a suspicious package, which subsequent investigation deemed not dangerous, was found at a service station.
City police closed multiple blocks downtown around noon after workers at the Shell gas station found what they thought was a possible bomb inside a trash can beside the gasoline pumps.
Capt. David J. Rutter said police were alerted to the suspicious item inside the waste container at the service station at the corner of Morgantown and Fayette streets. The item was described as two pop bottles joined together and filled with some type of liquid, with a powdery substance in between the bottles.
Officers immediately evacuated the business and then extended the perimeter several blocks in each direction and alerted the Allegheny County Bomb Squad to respond to the scene.
Police cordoned off a wide radius around the station, with officers stopping traffic on Morgantown Street at Ray and Church streets and emergency crews rerouting traffic on Fayette Street.
Police also evacuated the neighboring Sunoco A Plus, Conn Reality and Trinity United Methodist Church.
The bomb squad arrived at the scene shortly after 2?p.m. and deployed a robot to retrieve the item.
Rutter said police later discovered that the suspicious item is believed to be a student蘑菇视频 science experiment that was thrown away in the trash can for disposal.
鈥淲e received information as to the origin of the item and it does not appear that any harm was intended.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still in the process of verifying everything, but the information we received appears to be true,鈥� he said.
Rutter said all precautions are taken anytime a suspicious item that may be explosive is found and that the proper actions occurred Wednesday.
鈥淢embers from the Allegheny County Bomb Squad were able to respond and dismantle the suspect item without any incident and that was our primary concern,鈥� police Chief Jason A. Cox said.
The bomb scare occurred the morning after an explosion rocked a Uniontown business and caused significant damage to the exterior of the building and one week after an explosion destroyed a car in Pershing Court.
According to Sgt. Wayne Brown, police were called to Schiffbauer Tire at 131 E. Fayette St. for a report of an explosion.
City firefighter Dane 鈥淏uck鈥� Griffith and his daughter Hilary, who live nearby, heard the explosion and reported it to 911 before responding to the scene.
Brown said when police arrived they found the front windows of the business shattered and debris littering the parking lot.
A week before the bomb scare and the explosion at Schiffbauer Tire, Uniontown police said a car exploded near Pershing Court.
Officer Jonathan Grabiak said the incident occurred at 2:13?a.m. June 15 when Fayette County 911 dispatched officers to Pershing Court for a report of a vehicle fire.
Grabiak said as he and other officers left the police station on Penn Street they could hear multiple explosions coming from the Pershing Court area, which is about one mile away.
When police arrived, Grabiak said they spotted a vehicle engulfed in flames on Liberty Street.
Grabiak also noted that parts of the vehicle were strewn all over the road and that the roof of the vehicle was found about 250 feet from the car, and glass from the vehicle was found littered on an adjacent street.
Grabiak said he was able to determine the owner of the vehicle and was informed by the owner that his daughter had loaned the vehicle to an unidentified man in exchange for drugs.
The owner蘑菇视频 identity and the identity of his daughter have not been released.
Cox said his department is working in conjunction with the fire department, the state police fire marshal, the state police records and identification unit and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blasts Tuesday night and on June 15.