Stink bomb scare forces closing of shopping center

Stephen Curran

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 | 9:29 a.m.

Usually the bomb squad doesn't roll out for a stink bomb.

But it did Tuesday afternoon, when a western Las Vegas bomb scare forced the squad to close a shopping center until a suspicious trash can was found to be full of animal feces, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue bomb squad said.

Stores in the shopping center were closed and a remote section of the center's parking lot -- near the corner of West Charleston Boulevard and Hualapi Way-- was cordoned off for about two hours as emergency personnel, using a bomb-defusing robot, worked to determine what was inside the duct tape-covered trash can, said Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski.

The bomb squad responded after a call for assistance from Metro Police, who were concerned about the suspicious can's proximity to the busy stores, he said.

The robot later determined the trash can's contents were not dangerous and the container was not detonated, he said.

Good thing.

Police are still investigating in an effort to find out who left the trash can at the shopping center, Szymanski said.

The normally busy shopping center contains a Petsmart and a Home Depot store. Managers at both outlets declined to comment.