Merchants in the Peacock Market Plaza in South Riding lost about four hours of business last week, while authorities determined whether a black box with a red blinking light was a bomb.
Kraig Troxell, spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, said the suspicious package, discovered at the Greater Atlantic Bank, turned out to be a toy. Investigators cordoned off the plaza from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 16.
"BASICALLY, THEY found a suspicious item in the bank … on a table in the lobby," he said. "And they had a disgruntled customer earlier that morning."
Bank security officer Bell Herndon, a former FBI agent, said the bank manager, George Beasley, followed policy in treating the black box as a possible bomb. "One of the targets for terrorism for our country would be financial institutions to put fear into the community that terrorism is alive and well," Herndon said. "The branch manager did what he should do by evacuating the building and establishing a liaison with the Sheriff’s Office."
With the recent anthrax scare in mind, the Sheriff’s Office moved swiftly to inspect the box, he said.
Investigators used a robot to move it out of the bank and determine if it was an actual threat. Troxell said detectives wondered, "Did somebody do this in a sinister manner or was it left there by a child innocently?"
Troxell said, "We eventually took a look at the surveillance tape. It appears as if a toddler was carrying a similar item, and he didn’t have it in his hand when he left."
Herndon said authorities reviewed the closed circuit TV, frame by frame. "Kids have all sorts of electronic devices these days."
STEVE PASQUALE, owner and operator of the South Riding Inn restaurant and bar, said he watched investigators and the robot during the inspection. "The Sheriff’s Office was very concerned. There wasn’t a whole lot of joking going on at the time," he said. "It’s easy to joke about it now."
Pasquale said his business, located next to the bank, was closed, but there was no alternative. "If somebody thinks there is a bomb next door, what are you going to do? I’m going to argue with that?"
Food Lion manager Chris Krawchuk said he estimated he lost about $5,000 in sales.
Authorities required his 15 employees to remain in the grocery store during the last two and a half hours of the investigation. They were not scared, he said. "If they told us to evacuate, there would have been more of a sense of urgency."
The employees spent the time sprucing up the store. "To be honest with you, I had a Customer Appreciation Day Saturday, so we got ready for that," Krawchuk said. "There’s always something to do."
Jian Ren, owner of Wong Kok Asian Cuisine, said some of his employees were frightened. "We had to leave," he said. "We lost a lot of business, of course."