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Ticking Mailbox Temporarily Sparks Bomb Scare Outside Yeshiva University

By Murray Weiss | October 28, 2014 12:03pm
 A ticking sound coming from a mailbox in front of Yeshiva University sparked a bomb scare this weekend. Investigators cut the box open, only to find that the sound was coming from a USPS scanner used by mail delivery workers to record electronic deliveries, sources said.
A ticking sound coming from a mailbox in front of Yeshiva University sparked a bomb scare this weekend. Investigators cut the box open, only to find that the sound was coming from a USPS scanner used by mail delivery workers to record electronic deliveries, sources said.
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DNAinfo/Mat Katz

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A ticking sound coming from a mailbox caused a temporary bomb scare outside Yeshiva University this weekend, sources and witnesses said.

Yeshiva's security personnel and several concerned citizens began calling 911 Sunday morning after hearing a suspicious sound emanating from the U.S. Postal Service mailbox outside the school's Belfer Hall — but the sound turned out to be coming from an abandoned USPS scanner used by mailmen, according to law enforcement sources

Starting at 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning, postal service inspectors, police and bomb squad workers closed off streets near the corner of West 184th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Adjoining buildings at Yeshiva University were quickly emptied and crime scene tape was put up across several streets to keep people away as NYPD explosive technicians approached the mailbox to listen to the sound.

The police called the U.S. Postal Service inspectors to bring special keys needed to open the mailbox while the Bomb Squad unit used a snake-like camera device to peer inside and an X-ray machine, sources said.

Finally, police decided not to wait for the Postal Service and supervisors decided to use a hydraulic winch to cut open the metal mailbox, sources said.

After clearing away people's mail, the detectives discovered that the pinging came actually from a U.S Postal Service scanner used by mailmen to electronically record whenever they drop off a registered letter or box, sources said. The instrument also doubles as a GPS for managers to know the whereabouts of their carriers, officials say. 

The scanner pings when its battery is running low, officials said.

The device also has a message on its side that requests anyone who might find it to deposit it in the nearest mailbox, sources said.

The streets were reopened by noon, sources said.

Officials said they had not yet determined which mail carrier the device belonged to.

On Sunday, the NYPD wrapped a plastic bag over the damaged mailbox to prevent anyone from throwing mail into it. By Monday afternoon, the box had been completely removed. 

A Postal Service spokesman said the incident is being investigated.

With reporting by Lindsay Armstrong.