A shopping center in Groton was shut down for a few hours Saturday after a suspicious package was reported to police.
Police said the package was found around 12:30 in the afternoon in front of Aldi at the Groton Shopping Center on Long Hill Road.
Once police located the package, the plaza and the roadway were shut down. People inside the stores were asked to shelter in place as police took over the investigation.
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Officers helped several store employees and shoppers that were outside at the time leave the parking lot safely.
A bomb squad from CT State Police was deployed to help out with not only the package, but ensuring those remaining customers and employees were able to get to their cars from an alternate location and leave the area safely.
That package in question was later determined to be not suspicious and contained a benign object inside.
Multiple other police departments also assisted including Ledyard, Mohegan Sun, Connecticut State Police and fire personnel.
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According to police, investigators were being overly cautious after a recent legitimate pipe bomb threat earlier this week. In that incident, a man was arrested after he was found carrying pipe bombs in Groton. The bomb squad disabled them and rendered them inoperable.
He remains in custody at this time.
“Out of overly big concern for the safety of the public. We responded, we saw the package, we decided to secure the area as best we could," Groton Police Captain Greg McCarthy explained.
The plaza and the roadway reopened to the public around 4:30 p.m.
Why that package was placed in the shopping center parking lot remains under investigation. State Police will be analyzing the package that prompted the police response.
Anyone may have witnessed anything is being asked to contact Groton Police at 860-441-6712.