A bomb squad checked out two unattended suitcases outside the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles on Aug. 16, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Police cordoned off part of Wilshire Boulevard, where the consulate and other Jewish organizations are located, for several hours.
As videos of closed-off streets began surfacing on YouTube, police told several news agencies of the scare.
Police declared the area safe shortly after noon, according to reports.
The city’s Israeli Consulate has been the target of previous bomb threats. In December 2007 the entire building — which houses the consulate, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Young Judaea and the Israeli Scouts — was evacuated due to a bomb threat that was later found to be a false alarm. — jta