Forgotten Fake Bomb Prompts Police Response in Del Rey

A mock suspicious package from a training exercise over the weekend was accidentally left on two Santa Monica Big Blue Buses, prompting a major police response Monday morning in Del Rey.

There were traffic delays as Los Angeles police cordoned off the buses in the area of Culver and Venice boulevards, and Pico Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, some time between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., according to Los Angeles police and bus company officials.

"The Big Blue Bus deeply regrets the inconvenience and concern caused by today’s incident," Big Blue Bus spokeswoman Suja Lowenthal said in a statement. "We are grateful to our riders for being so alert and speaking up."

The weekend training exercise involved several buses from Santa Monica, Torrance, Culver City and Montebello that were part of a “Roadeo” competition, according to Big Blue Bus spokes Suja Lowenthal. The event graded drivers on a number of skills, including diligence in performing a pre-trip inspection of their bus as well as identifying suspicious items.

Four Big Blue buses were involved in the Roadeo, and two of the dummy packages—black duffle bags—were not removed before the training buses resumed their normal routes on Monday, according to Lowenthal.

Monday’s driver notified the police when a passenger pointed out the black duffle bag under one of the seats.

“A lot of folks were commuting, and we regret the inconvenience,” Lownthal said. 

— City News Service contributed to this report.