A suspicious briefcase shuts down a downtown Grand Junction post office for two hours, however in the end it proved to a case of simple absentmindedness.
The briefcase was discovered by a customer in the lobby of the post office around 2:30 p.m. Monday and once it was found, about 20 postal workers and customers evacuated the building and waited for police and fire units to show up.
Once on-scene, streets were blocked off in a one?block area in each direction. The bomb squad entered the building to examine the briefcase
and post office officials say evacuating isn't just logical but protocol following the Sept.. 11th terrorist attacks.
After initial inspections the bomb squad could not determine if the case contained explosives and were preparing to extract the briefcase with a robot. Shortly thereafter, a woman called authorities, telling them she had forgotten her briefcase at the post office earlier in the day.
Postal officials add disruption to mail service was minimal.
