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Bomb scare!
A suitcase drawing the suspicion of shoppers in the King Kullen parking lot on Sunrise Highway last Friday around 4:45 p.m., complete with protruding wires, became the subject of a Nassau County Bomb Squad investigation.
The investigation caused the evacuation of the King Kullen supermarket and its parking lot, and the closure of Sunrise Highway in both directions as the squad attempted to determine the suitcase’s origins and whether it contained a bomb.
The drama unfolded under a late-afternoon sun as hotrods and classic cars were pulling into the Long Island Rail Road parking lot for their weekly gathering, shoppers were scurrying to buy last-minute dinner items at King Kullen and traffic was building up in both directions.
A source told Bellmore Life he was alerted by two shoppers who became alarmed at a suitcase on the north side of the parking lot, near the highway, showing wires hanging out of it. The source and the shoppers then told King Kullen management, which called for an evacuation of the premises while calling the police.
Lloyd Singer, a King Kullen spokesperson, said “King Kullen is cooperating with local authorities into the investigation of this incident.” He did not provide further details regarding surveillance cameras or other security measures on the property that may have recorded any movements.
Cease-and-desist
When Bellmore Life arrived, the eastbound lane of Sunrise Highway was closed between Bedford Avenue and Bellmore Avenue, with police redirecting traffic. The King Kullen parking lot was virtually empty except for an unmarked van at the entranceway from Royle Street. Several men were active around the van.
Two cars were within six feet of the suitcase, which was sitting under a tree near the parking lot curb and clearly visible from informed car show parking lot across the street.
While photographing the scene Bellmore Life reporters were ordered by Nassau police to cease-and-desist from taking pictures, and were also told that people in the parking lot housing the car show would be required to move.
Once a large, black police vehicle had moved onto the scene, the westbound lane of Sunrise Highway was closed at Bellmore Avenue, and traffic diverted.
Within 15 minutes, a person wearing heavy protective clothing approached the suitcase and stood over it, kneeling down all around it and eventually placing an aluminum-like pole about five feet from the suitcase.
The person then slowly backed away from the suitcase, facing the suitcase the entire time.
Meanwhile, as trains entered the station, dropping off passengers who observed the police action on the highway, one woman, who asked to remain anonymous, commented to Bellmore Life that, being an emergency medical technician, she has been involved in training in which proper authorities were not notified of the “training” sessions because of the “real world” environment needed to get the best out of the technicians in a spontaneous situation.
“Look how far away the suitcase is from crowds,” she offered as proof of her idea. She inferred from observation that there seemed to be no imminent danger at that location.
Not so fast
However, the following day, Saturday, June 19, a second suspicious suitcase was found in the middle of the parking lot of the Waldbaum’s supermarket on Merrick Road in Merrick. Wires were also protruding from the bottom of that suitcase. The Nassau Arson/Bomb Squad was called to the scene at 4:15 p.m., and the parking lot was evacuated. It was determined that the suitcase was not a bomb and the parking lot was re-opened around 7 p.m., one shopper told Bellmore Life.
As observation of the Bellmore site continued, a large pop suddenly rang out, and the suitcase jolted backward, splitting it open. Several minutes elapsed before other bomb squad personnel approached the suitcase to begin rummaging through the contents.
At that moment, 6:40 p.m., the “scare” was over. It had been determined by remote X-ray placed near the suitcase that it contained household items, such as a lamp, but no explosives.
Facing other challenges
King Kullen faces other headaches at the moment. The grocery workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1500, are considering a strike when their contract ends this Saturday, June 26.
Patrick Purcell, spokesperson for UFCW Local 1500, said the workers are “fighting for a fair standard of living.
It is not the intention of our workers to cause any inconvenience to the public.” Mr. Purcell said the police department was notified that a strike is possible and would take place “in an orderly and legal fashion,” he said.
Mr. Purcell said he was unaware of the bomb scare in the parking lot at King Kullen. “I have been in the [King Kullen] stores all weekend, and no one even mentioned this to us.”
Lost revenues
At least two restaurant retailers told Bellmore Life that closing the parking lot into King Kullen, and an alternate third parking lot on Royle Street, deprived them of business for at least two hours.
Ellen Ross, a manager at Piccolo’s Ristorante, said that Friday nights at that time are the “busiest take-out nights of the week” and that the restaurant lost a substantial amount of revenue.
A Chung-Hing Chinese Restaurant co-owner, identified only as Shirley, said many people who called in for orders were unable to pick them up, and the restaurant couldn’t take any orders to them. Nor could customers come in to take food out.
Police are actively investigating the bomb scares in Bellmore and Merrick.
–Additional reporting by Laura Schofer
