Bomb squad destroys suspicious packages, delays early voting

Orange County voters wait in long line to vote

WINTER PARK, Fla. – Winter Park police are investigating two suspicious packages outside an early voting site.

Police said about 11:45 a.m., someone found a suspicious package along Lyman Avenue at Winter Park library.

Members of the bomb squad used dogs and an X-Ray machine to determine if the package was a threat, before deciding to detonate it just to be safe, officials said.

Tom Pearson, of the Winter Park Police Department, said the package looked like a cooler with exposed wires. Pearson said the cooler was unattended for at least a few hours before an election worker reported it to police.

Authorities said a police dog found a second suspicious package later in the day, which authorities also detonated as a precaution. According to authorities, that device was a backpack containing trash, but was also destroyed by a robot operated by the Orange County Bomb Squad.

Police said they evacuated the library, filled with people waiting to vote, so they could investigate.

Poll workers and police did the best they could to move the line a safe distance from the building, while maintaining the order.

Police also closed several roads in the immediate area to make sure everyone was safe from any possible threat.

At this time, authorities don't know if the packages were a threat or if they were deliberately placed.

Early voters were let back in to vote just before 4 p.m. and the early voting location is operating as normal.


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