Van Prompts Universal Parking Garage Evacuation
Theme Park Guests Kept From Cars For Hours
POSTED: Monday, August 2, 2004
UPDATED: 11:07 am EDT August 2,
2004
An abandoned moving van discovered at Universal Orlando Sunday prompted the evacuation of one of the largest parking garages in the world, according to Local 6 News.
Officials said Universal security spotted the van in the theme park's garage and when it remained parked for hours, police were notified.
Arson and bomb squad investigators suited up and inspected the Penske van Sunday night. After drilling holes to look inside the vehicle, several suspicious items were spotted.
The van was then moved from the garage to a safe location.
However, police were eventually able to locate the van's driver and clear the van, Local 6 News reported.
Guests were allowed back into the garage to their vehicles at about 11 p.m. Sunday night -- hours after the initial scare.
The van was found hours after word that truck bombers may be targeting the United States, according to the report.
The federal government warned Sunday of possible terrorist attacks against "iconic" financial institutions in New York City, Washington and Newark, N.J., saying a confluence of chilling intelligence in recent days pointed to a car or truck bomb.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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