Bomb Squad defuses Queen’s Lawn hoax
A bomb scare disrupted Wednesday lunchtime when a parcel, believed to have been an explosive device, was placed on the front desk of the Sherfield Security reception. The incident, described later as a "silly student prank", necessitated the mobilisation of the Bomb Squad.
The drama began when at 1.25pm when a student, claiming that a man in Queens Gate had given him Ł10 to deliver the parcel to Security, deposited the item together with a "special message of apology". The circumstances were enough to raise the suspicions of the security guards as this ploy is known to be typical terrorist tactic. There were fears that a former Northern Ireland Minister, visiting College at the time, might be in danger.
The parcel was "extremely heavy for an item of that size" said Ken Weir, Deputy Head of Security, which further heightened his anxiety. Mr Weir went on to say that "It was a plastic bag with a vinyl case inside and a handle sticking out of the top, I wasn’t about to open it."
Acting quickly and efficiently, Terry Sweeney, who just last week revived an inebriated student when he stopped breathing, picked up the package and moved it to the doorstep of the Sherfield exit facing the Queens Lawn. With remarkable presence of mind Ken Weir, worried that the package might explode, moved it to the centre of Queens Lawn. Fortunately there were several police officers on campus barcoding bicycles and after a quick discussion, PC Clive Coleman called the Bomb Squad.
When the team of experts arrived they cordoned off the Queens Lawn area and evacuated students from the vicinity. The windowed areas of the buildings adjacent to the lawn had already been cleared at the orders Keith Reynolds, Head Security, with the help of Ken Weir and the Emergency Response Team. The Bomb Squad then proceeded to examine the parcel and needed two X-rays to fully ascertain the object’s nature.
Coming to the conclusion that the parcel was in fact an inoffensive article the team decided to open it. Inside they found an over head projector that had been stolen last Friday during ICU International Night from the office of Ian Gillet, IC Safety Officer.
Security notified students of the all clear and staff were allowed to re-enter their buildings at 2.14 pm after nearly an hour. A fatigued Mr Weir expressed his disdain saying "It seems to have been a silly student prank ... which has caused a major incident and wasted large amounts of police time and money." The local constabulary have asked IC Security to aid them in their search for those behind the incident. Criminal charges for wasting police time are being considered
