Bomb Squad Called To Bel Air For Pressure Cooker Device

BEL AIR, MD — A sealed pressure cooker prompted a police investigation Tuesday afternoon near a shopping center in Bel Air. Officials said the item behind Bel Air Plaza was deemed to be an empty, discarded pressure cooker.

Around 1:15 p.m., a passerby discovered the suspicious package near 580 Marketplace Drive and notified authorities, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Dinesh Pun, owner of Slices Pizzeria, said he had noticed an object with a box over it in the parking lot behind the restaurant around 1 p.m., and one of the delivery drivers drew his attention to it once the box blew off. "I thought it was just a box," Pun said, but he told Patch once he could actually see what it was, it appeared to be a rice cooker that had been spray-painted.

Before 2 p.m., the Bel Air Police Department reported it had established a perimeter behind the shopping center as a precaution. Part of the parking area was blocked off near Sweetfrog and Slices, between the Bel Air Plaza and Target.

A robot and member of the bomb squad conducted diagnostics on the object.

“There was talk of evacuations,” Angela Kahoe, who works at Slices, told Bel Air Patch.

Ultimately, no evacuations were needed, and the business remained open throughout the investigation, she said.

By 3:45 p.m., police had cleared the scene.

"The incident has concluded and the suspicious package (sealed pressure cooker) was found to be empty," the Bel Air Police Department said in a statement. "Thanks for your assistance Office of the State Fire Marshal - Maryland State Police!"

The Office of the State Fire Marshal, which is a division of Maryland State Police, operates the bomb squad.