A stray bag containing toys prompts chaotic evacuation on Tuesday afternoon of the Trump Tower, where President-elect Donald Trump resides. The package was discovered in the lobby of the 58-storey New York City skyscraper.
New York Police Department's Assistant Commissioner for Communication & Public Information J Peter Donald said that the NYPD Bomb Squad is responding to a suspicious package in the lobby of Trump Tower out of an abundance of caution,
Trump was in Florida at the time of the incident. Trump transition team spokesman Sean Spicer said an unattended package was outside the checkpoint area. After a thorough search, it was found that the packet left near a store was filled with toys.
"It was hysteria," said Andy Martin, a 16-year-old from the New York City suburb of Huntington. He told AP that the police were shouting and telling people to leave.
Trump Tower, in addition to being the president-elect's home and business headquarters, contains residences, restaurants, retail stores - and a lobby that by law is open to the public to visitors daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Around the time of the evacuation Trump was posting on Twitter saying that "President Obama campaigned hard (and personally) in the very important swing states, and lost. The voters wanted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The incident even seemed to set off a Twitter war between the Trump and de Blasio camps. Sean Spicer, Trump's pick for Press Secretary wrote, "Back to work. False alarm. Thanks NYPD," once the situation is confirmed "all clear".
Mayor de Blasio's Press Secretary Eric Phillips responded by replying "No problem. We'll send you the bill." Dan Scavino, Trump's social media adviser then called Phillips an embarrassment by saying the tweet wasn't nice, and mentioned the bill again
According to Associated Press, police receive about 42 reports every day of so-called suspicious packages, though that number can surge depending on current events. With the incident of a pressure cooker bomb exploded earlier this year in New York City, police responded to more than 800 calls of "suspicious packages."
