With security already intensified following yesterday’s attack in Boston, APD investigated a suspicious device found near Turner Field early this afternoon.
I was on the phone with Frank Redding, who manages properties near the stadium, at the time the SWAT team was on site. “Hang on a minute. Police just detonated something,” he said.
According to a statement from public affairs officer James Chafee, here’s what happened:
It appears that Turner Field security personnel were conducting
routine security checks in and around Turner Field when they noticed
what appeared to be a suspicious electronic device under a garbage can
on the sidewalk outside the gates and notified police. Atlanta Police
SWAT units responded to the scene and remotely disabled the device. At
this time it appears that the device was of no threat and the area has
since been reopened.
Redding, who was at a parking lot checking on his staff, said “all the streets were locked-down earlier.”
I just called him back and Redding said the fans were coming in a little slower than usual but he expected a good crowd and good game: “There are mounted police out here, and extra police, and there’s a sense of safety.”
In the meantime, the mayor’s office announced security will be stepped up, especially with a number of events on tap, including Braves games tonight and tomorrow, the Dogwood and SweetWater 420 festivals, and a Taylor Swift concert. In a statement, City Hall says that while “there is no intelligence to suggest the city of Atlanta is a target,” local public-safety agencies have been coordinating each other and federal agencies.
