WESTFIELD – City and state emergency personnel were called out Friday morning when a suspicious package was found near a city well.
City police report that water department workers notified police at 8:16 a.m. that they had discovered a shoebox wrapped in electrical tape near the well on Union Street where they were working.
Officer Luis Morales was the first officer to respond and Lt. Lawrence Valliere, the department’s emergency response director, arrived a short time late to take command of the incident.
State police were notified and a bomb squad technician was dispatched from Northampton.
An ambulance and two engines were sent to the area by the city’s fire department.
The shoebox was x-rayed by the bomb squad trooper and, when no threat was indicated, the box was opened.
The shoebox was found to contain a pair of sneakers and a newspaper.
