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Saturday, November 6, 2010

Novartis Bomb Scare Defused

Friday morning Emeryville police received a call about a suspicious package in the mailbox in front of Novartis on 53rd Street and after inspecting the scene, EPD notified the Alameda County Bomb Squad.  Police then shut down 53rd Street while the Alameda County officials x-rayed the package.
It was determined to be a possible explosive devise so the package was detonated on site at 12:09 PM.  No one was hurt in the exposition and only one Novartis security camera was damaged.

The contents of the package were destroyed but police told the Tattler that it was a computer modem, not a bomb.  The information on the sender of the package has not been released but police indicated that the package was legitimate and benign.

53rd Street was closed down for approximately two hours during the ordeal.

Novartis has kept up a heightened state of security following a August 27th  2003 bombing at the site then owned by bio tech firm Chiron and subsequently acquired by Novartis.  An animal rights group calling themselves 'Revolutionary Cells of the Animal Liberation Brigade' claimed responsibility for that attack. The front door on 53rd Street was damaged by the 2003 pipe bomb.

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