After determining that the two reported bomb-like devices at Girard Park and UL Lafayette this morning were non-explosive, authorities have lifted the barricades, and an investigation into who was responsible is now under way.
Photo by Wynce Nolley
After determining that the two reported bomb-like devices at Girard Park and UL Lafayette this morning (Wednesday) were non-explosive, authorities have lifted the barricades, and an investigation into who was responsible is now under way.
According to this report from The Daily Advertiser, an unidentified male called in the threat to KATC TV3 at 5:31 a.m., explains the station's General Manager Andrew Shenkan, who says the seemingly drunk caller "sounded incoherent and was spewing expletives."
"He called the main newsroom line and told our producer he had placed multiple devices around the park and UL," Shenkan tells the Advertiser. "He was using expletives and made other defamatory statements. So our producer immediately reached out to law enforcement."
The investigation, which consisted of various law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, determined that the device found in a Girard Park trash can was purposefully made to look like a bomb, but was not explosive. And it turns out the second reported device, believed to be on the UL campus, didn't exist.
The investigation, however, is far from over as authorities now turn their attention to finding the person responsible. And perhaps the biggest lead for investigators will be KATC's phone records. A tip hotline has also been setup by the FBI.
The New Orleans division of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force issued a press release this afternoon encouraging anyone with knowledge of the incident to call 1-800-CALL FBI.
"Standing shoulder to shoulder with our law enforcement partners and both federal and state prosecutors, bomb threats and hoaxes are acts of terror that are and will be investigated with the full weight of federal, state and local resources," says Michael J. Anderson, special agent in charge for the FBI's New Orleans office. "Any tips we can receive are vital to resolving this and other such cases."