By Jennifer Glickel and Mariel S. Clark
DNAinfo Staff
HERALD SQUARE — A suspicious package caused the evacuation of Macy's department store in the middle of the holiday shopping rush on Monday afternoon.
Police closed off Broadway from 34th to 35th Streets and Herald Square after a call came in at about 12:30 p.m. concerning a suspicious suitcase in front of the store, police said.
Shoppers and employees were evacuated from Macy's as the bomb squad inspected the package, police on the scene said.
Police reopened the store and gave the all clear at 2 p.m. after a member of the counter terrorism unit, clad in a bomb suit, cut open the suitcase and found clothing inside.
Bystanders who crowded around the NYPD barricades on 34th Street were concerned, but relieved when police reopened the area.
"Welcome to the new world we live in," said Brooklyn resident Sam Schneider, 62.
"99 percent of the time it's nothing, but it is still always scary after September 11th. Everything the police did by shutting down the area and evacuating people is necessary."
