Boston Bomb Threat Update: Police Shut Down Street After Suitcase Found Near Parked Homeland Security Vehicle

UPDATE 12:20 p.m. EST: Boston police do not believe the suitcase found unattended on Atlantic Avenue Friday morning contained explosives, Commissioner William Evans told media after the bomb squad conducted a controlled detonation of the device.

Evans said law enforcement was proceeding with an abundance of caution, adding that bomb technicians saw wires and a power source when they used an x-ray on the suitcase.

A white male in his 40s was seen leaving the suitcase next to the Department of Homeland Security vehicle parked on Atlantic Avenue, and Evans said police would like to find out why he left it there, although he is not considered a suspect.

"We don't believe that this was a dangerous device at this time," he said. "Given what's going on around the country, better safe than sorry."

UPDATE 12:03 p.m. EST: Authorities used a "pack bot" device to conduct a controlled detonation of the suitcase, local media reported.

Original story:

Boston police shut down an avenue and brought in a bomb squad after a suspicious suitcase was found near the wheel of a Homeland Security vehicle Friday morning, the Boston Globe reported.

Authorities were using a robot to examine the suitcase, which appeared to be printed with roses and had an airplane luggage tag attached. The vehicle was parked near the U.S. Coast Guard office on Atlantic Avenue.

Traffic was being diverted from the area, and law enforcement shut down several highway exits, but a Coast Guard spokesman confirmed that no evacuation order has been issued for the area.

Users took to Twitter Friday morning to share photos of dozens of heavily armed officers flooding the 400 block of Atlantic Avenue.