Post Office Backpack Posed No Threat To Tinley Park: UPDATE

TINLEY PARK, IL — The suspicious package that caused alarm at a Tinley Park post office was a backpack someone left in the building, postal authorities said. No threat was made and there is no danger to the community, they added.

Postal inspectors determined that a customer inadvertently left a backpack behind after a visit to the post office on 171st Street, said Matthew Villicana, a public information officer with the postal inspection service.

He dispelled rumors that a note with a threat was left in the backpack.

"There is not indication there was any threat to anyone," Villicana said. "There was no note or anything like that associated with the backpack."

According to Pat Carr, Tinley Park's assistant village manager, the village received a 911 call at about 3:50 p.m. reporting a suspicious package at the facility. Postal workers evacuated the building before police arrived, he said. Authorities also closed 171st Street from Harlem Avenue west for several blocks during the investigation.

Villicana added that the manager at the post office decided to evacuate "out of an abundance of caution" and followed proper procedures to do so. Investigators are looking for the owner to return what they consider is personal property, he said.

An all-clear was given by 6 p.m. Monday, authorities said.