Suspicious pkg at Ft. Eustis cleared

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (WAVY) - Officials cleared the suspicious package that was found inside a vehicle at Fort Eustis in Newport News on Monday around 3:15 p.m.

An Explosive Ordinance Disposal robot from Yorktown Naval Weapons Station cleared a package that contained personal items, a news release from Joint Base Langley-Eustis said.

Traffic was backed up for several hours as the main gate into Fort Eustis was closed to inspect the package.

Calvin Mack, like thousands of other drivers, eventually made the only turn possible onto Warwick Boulevard.

"I was on my way to class at Ft. Eustis, but I got stopped," said Mack. "Just called, and got a call from my instructor saying class was canceled due to a bomb threat."

While the ramps remained closed, EOD teams kept working with a robot to determine the threat. Just before 6:00 p.m., video from Chopper 10 showed the robot examining a white package on the ground. By 6:15 p.m., the package was ripped into pieces.

Further inspection cleared the vehicle and the package was transported to the main gate.

At approximately 8 p.m., the gate was re-opened and operations at the base went back to normal.

School children also had a hard time getting through the traffic mess the suspicious package caused.

According to Newport News Public Schools spokesperson Michelle Price, there were about 12 to 14 buses representing seven schools from pre-K to high school that were affected by the traffic back-ups. Price said 8 p.m. was probably the latest that children got home.

Although operations at the base returned back to normal, police said an the investigation into the incident and a review of the incident operations are underway.