World Financial Center evacuated over toy grenade package
People watch construction on the World Trade Center site from a viewing area at the World Financial Center on September 9, 2011 in New York City. The building was evacuated Thursday after a security guard found a fake grenade in a package.
The World Financial Center was evacuated Thursday after a security guard spotted a suspicious package found to contain a toy grenade, NBC New York reported.
A security guard in the Manhattan building, located across from the World Trade Center memorial, reported a suspicious-looking mail-order package, which was found to contain a toy grenade after an X-ray screening, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. The police bomb squad was called in as a precaution.
The grenade was a gag-style gift, mounted on a plaque that said "Complaint department: Take a number," according to Bloomberg, with a number attached to the grenade pin.
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Brookfield Properties, which manages the World Financial Center complex, ordered a precautionary evacuation. Employees were allowed to return inside after the New York Police Department declared the situation all clear about 90 minutes later, the Associated Press reported.
One of the company's employees was responsible for bringing the fake explosive into the building, and a Nomura Securities spokesman said that that person was being placed on administrative leave pending an internal review, Bloomberg reported.
The World Financial Center is home to major financial institutions including Merrill Lynch, Deloitte, and OppenheimerFunds Inc, NBC reported. The building was damaged on September 11, 2001, when terror attacks on the World Trade Center killed nearly 3,000 people, Bloomberg reported.