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Oops/Duh: Fake Bomb Left In Newark Rental Car Freaks Everyone Out
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 22, 2012
Modified Jul 22, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 22, 2012
Modified Jul 22, 2012
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If you saw something that looked like C4, you'd call the police, right? That's what Budget Rent-A-Car employees found in the trunk of a vehicle returned to a location near Newark Airport. Thankfully, it turned out the fake explosives were a prop forgotten by an iRobot employee. A Budget employee told the Post, “It was a really frightening thing."
The Budget employees found luggage in the trunk, which they brought back to the office (which is not on the site of the airport). Inside one suitcase was "material marked 'C-4' with a detonation cord." The area near the office was cleared until the material was found not to be dangerous.
iRobot manufactures products including bomb disposal robots. Massachusetts State Police said, "The investigation revealed that the man is a salesperson for iRobot in Bedford and that he left the suitcases behind by mistake. The man was returning from a training and sales seminar at Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway, N.J." (The arsenal makes ammunition!). The cops did not charge him, because being forgetful (or stupid) is not yet a criminal offense.
The Port Authority, which called it a "Big Moron Story," told the Post it will bill iRobot for the overtime and bomb squad costs.
Tagged
fake bomb
fake explosive
irobot
port authority
rental car
stupid
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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