Pasadena Bomb Scare that Shut Down 210 Freeway Caused by Discarded Jacket: UPDATE

PASADENA, CA — Both sides of the 210 Freeway were closed at Lake Avenue in Pasadena along with the nearby Metro Station Wednesday morning while the bomb squad responded to a suspicious package that turned out to be a jacket.

Police responded to a report of a suspicious item at the Gold Line Metro Station at 8:23 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Transit Division.

"It ended up being an article of clothing," said Ramon Montenegro, spokesman for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Transit Policing Division.

A man had reportedly thrown the jacket onto the freeway from the adjacent Gold Line Metro station.

"It was determined that the suspicious package contained some kind of device," said Transit Policing Division Lt. Marc Lucio. "We didn't know if it was active or inactive so the bomb squad was called out to handle it."

The man who allegedly threw the jacket was later arrested.

"The original call was about this man acting suspicious," Montenegro. "He was getting on and on off the train, but not really going anywhere."

After throwing the jacket onto the freeway, the man rode the train to the Memorial Park stop, where he was met by police.

"He had actually left the scene when he threw the article of clothing," Montenegro said. "When our deputies met up with him he was combative and is now under arrest for fighting with our deputies."

The California Highway Patrol stopped traffic on the eastbound side of the 210 Freeway at Lake Avenue at 9:06 a.m., explained CHP Officer Peter Nicholson. As a precaution, authorities closed down the other side of the freeway a short time later.

The Gold Line station was closed, and buses shuttled passengers between the Allen and Memorial Park stations.

The freeway closure has morning traffic backed up for miles in both directions.

The scare comes amid beefed-up security at Los Angeles train stations.

This incident comes two days after a bogus tip about a possible "explosive device" that would be detonated Tuesday at the Red Line station on Lankershim Boulevard across from Universal Studios was phoned into authorities.

That tip, made from a pay phone reportedly used to communicate bogus threats in the past, was relayed to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on Monday morning, authorities said.

Authorities learned about the threat from someone in Australia who called a public safety line and provided information about the alleged plot, according to Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Horace Frank, assistant commanding officer of the department's Counterterrorism Bureau.

Commuters who rely on Metro rail lines were met with heavy security Tuesday as local and federal authorities responded to the tip. The Universal City Station was heavily fortified Tuesday, with barricades and a throng of sheriff's deputies and police officers wielding high-powered weapons.

Investigators eventually found no evidence to corroborate the warning of a possible bomb attack, the FBI announced Tuesday night.

There is no word yet on whether authorities believe this incident is related to the earlier threat against the Red Line.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. PLEASE REFRESH THE SCREEN FOR UPDATES.

City News Service contributed to this report.