Updated at 6:24 p.m.:
UTRGV’s Chief of Police Raul Munguia told The Rider that the suspicious item was a small microwave oven deemed not a threat after the Brownsville Police Department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit conducted an X-ray.
UTRGV police received a call around 2:30 p.m. from the Veteran’s Affairs Police Department about the suspicious item.
“The item was a small microwave oven and we couldn’t see in the inside of it and it’s kind of odd for somebody in a parking lot to leave a microwave oven out there given today’s climate, you know, you can’t be too, you know, too careful,” Munguia said. “We opted just to err on the side of safety and we closed off the parking lot.”
Munguia advises the campus community to not pick up, touch or move suspicious items, but instead contact the nearest police department.
“The other thing is to, if you’re thinking that it might be an explosive, don’t use your cell phone right while you’re standing next to it,” he said. “A potential explosive device can actually be activated by the radio signals coming from the cell phone. So, if you ever have a suspicious device make sure that you’re at least a hundred yards away before you use your cell phone.”
Updated at 4:51 p.m.:
Harlingen Police posted on its Facebook page that the item was deemed not to be a threat.
The post also states the roads have been cleared and traffic has resumed as normal. UTRGV staff removed the item.
Harlingen Police and the Brownsville Hazardous Device Unit were on site to ensure the suspicious item is safe.
According to a post from its Facebook page, Harlingen Police assisted with temporary road closures near the UTRGV facility on Haine and Treasure Hills boulevard.
Original story:
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Police Department is investigating a suspicious item found in a Harlingen campus parking lot and advises the public to stay out of the area until further notice.
Patrick Gonzales, UTRGV associate vice president of Marketing and Communication, told The Rider the only information he knows is what was sent out.
“All the information I have is what was sent out in that alert,” Gonzales said. “There’s a suspicious item in that parking lot. It’s actually in the [Veteran’s Affairs] parking lot and it’s being investigated as we speak. … It’s our building but we lease it to the Veteran’s Affairs and it was found in that parking lot is what I was told.”
UTRGV sent out an emergency notification to the campus community earlier this afternoon regarding the incident.
The Rider will provide developments as it receives them.
