Los Angeles police responded to a 911 calls saying a bomb had been placed near a Jewish temple and patrol car, which was lifted off the street by a specially equipped LAPD vehicle during the investigation Tuesday morning in the Koreatown area.
Police found the suspicious device under the car after a series of calls from a pay phone in the area.
At 2 a.m., police initially received a call saying a device had been planted on the grounds of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest reform synagogue in Los Angeles. A search of temple grounds, in the 3600 block of Wilshire Boulevard, found nothing, according to Sgt. Rudy Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Then, at about 8 a.m., police got two calls from pay phones saying a patrol vehicle in the area had been targeted with a bomb, Lopez said.
A package was found under a patrol car parked north of Wilshire Boulevard on the west side of Harvard Boulevard, officials said. The car is a deterrent vehicle parked in the area overnight, Lopez said.
A perimeter had been established in the area of Wilshire and Hobart boulevards (map), near the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
Some evacuation orders were issued, but it wasn't clear exactly where.
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Aerial video at about 11:30 a.m. showed a robot operating next to the police car. Two uniformed officers who did not appear to be wearing bomb protection gear were nearby and working with the robot.
The "BatCat," or "Bomb Assault Tactical Control Assessment Tool," was positioned around the corner from the car, as was a mobile command unit and multiple LA Fire Department vehicles, as seen above.
The "BatCat," equipped with a fork-lift type extension, raised the cruiser off the ground and a bomb squad robot was positioned under the vehicle.
An FBI canine unit was on scene.
Traffic was backed up on Wilshire Boulevard during the investigation.
No evidence of a bomb has been found.
