This story has been updated.
Newport Police Department is currently on scene at the Newport Gateway Center after a suspicious device was found on the sidewalk of America’s Cup Avenue near the building, according to an informed source.
The Newport Gateway Center, the city’s transportation and visitors center, was evacuated. At approximately 2:30 p.m., staff were told that they could go back into the building and called it a “false alarm”, according to our source on the scene.
“It was a silver metal canister about the size of a pressure cooker against the building across from Cardines Field. They evacuated the building until they could determine it wasn’t a danger,” a witness who was at the scene told us.
Newport Police Department has issued the following statement;
Today at approximately 1:17 pm, Newport Police were notified by an individual with regards to what appeared to be a suspicious metal object located on the sidewalk directly outside the Newport Gateway Center on America’s Cup Avenue. Based on the initial observations of the object, an abundance of caution was used and the immediate area including the interior of the Gateway Center was evacuated. Newport Police, Newport Fire Department and the RI State Fire Marshall’s Office Bomb Squad responded to this report and determined that the object was not a danger to persons or property by the use of the remote controlled robot from the bomb squad. In light of recent world events, we encourage persons that if they, “See Something, Say Something.”
Police used a robotic device to investigate the suspicious package.
America’s Cup was lined with police tape and closed from Long Wharf to Bridge Street.
