McAllen police detonate ‘fake explosive device’ at UTRGV

EDINBURG — UTRGV’s Community Engagement & Student Success building, or CESS, is back open for business after being briefly evacuated Tuesday morning following the discovery of a suspicious package that was later detonated for precautionary measures.

The facility is away from the university’s main campus, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and Freddy Gonzalez.

University spokesperson Patrick Gonzalez said the site is home to a central receiving mail area and surplus warehouse, where an employee noticed a suspicious package in the stream of mail that enters the facility daily.

Gonzalez couldn’t give any specifics on the item, but said it was reported as looking “like a fake explosive device.”

“Something that looked suspicious enough to initiate suspicious package protocols,” he said.

Employees contacted the university’s police department, which contacted the McAllen bomb squad in accordance with university policies, Gonzalez said.

He says the bomb squad detonated the object to ensure it was fake.

McAllen police spokesman Lt. Joel Morales declined to answer any questions about the incident at the facility or the department’s involvement, referring questions to UTRGV police.

A subsequent post to university social media just before noon gave the building the all clear and said normal operations could resume.

The building was evacuated for about two hours.

“Obviously the investigation is still ongoing to see the source of the package,” Gonzalez said.

A UTRGV release said the university will conduct an internal review into safety protocols surrounding the incident, the norm for situations requiring police attention.


EARLIER UPDATE:

EDINBURG — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Community Engagement & Student Success (CESS) building is back open for business after being briefly evacuated Tuesday morning.

The facility is away from the university’s main campus, near the intersection of I-69 and Freddy Gonzalez.

A post on the university’s social media says the building was evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious package. The post directed people to evacuate via east side exits.

“Avoid the area,” it read. “Police on scene.”

A post made just before noon gave the building the all clear and said normal operations could resume.

“No further updates,” it said.


ORIGINAL POST:

EDINBURG — A building of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was being evacuated here as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after a suspicious package was found, according to an alert from the university.

The CESS building, which is not located at the main Edinburg campus, is the only building being affected, according to the notice.

That building is located along the frontage road of I-69 between Freddy Gonzalez and Sprague Street.

“Evacuate the building via East side exits and await further instruction,” the notice read. “Police are on scene.”