DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Police examined the remains of a suspicious device found yesterday at a bus stop at Ala Moana Center which prompted the closure of nearby Kona Street for four hours. The Honolulu Police Department bomb unit blasted the device, rendering it safe for examination. Police experts found the device contained no explosives.

Bomb scare hits Ala Moana

A fake device left at a bus stop prompts the closure of stores and part of a street

A fake bomb left at an Ala Moana Center bus stop early yesterday forced the evacuation of some stores, delayed the opening of others and shut down a portion of Kona Street for four hours.

A shopping center maintenance worker spotted the device behind a planter box off Kona Street at 5:40 a.m., said Lt. Jerry Inouye, of the Honolulu Police Department. The worker notified center security, who notified Honolulu police.

Deputy Police Chief Paul Putzulu described the device as cylindrical with wires protruding out of it.

"If you looked at it, you would say that looks like a pipe bomb," he said.

That prompted police to summon its bomb unit. They also closed Kona Street between Keeaumoku and Kona Iki streets and cleared the first and second levels of the center's parking lot in front of that portion of the street. They also evacuated ground-level businesses on both sides of the closed street.

At 10 a.m., HPD's bomb unit blasted the device, rendering it safe for examination. Police bomb experts found the device contained no explosives.

"We determined it was a hoax device," Inouye said.

But police have opened a terroristic threatening investigation.

"It's not something that was innocently left there. It's obvious from our point of view it was left there to scare people," Inouye said.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Ala Moana security directed pedestrian traffic away from the blocked-off area at the Keeaumoku Street entrance to Ala Moana Center where a Bank of Hawaii branch is located. Police also evacuated ground-level businesses on both sides of Kona Street.

Police gave the center the all-clear signal at 10:15 a.m. and reopened Kona Street five minutes later.

The incident delayed the opening of 23 stores by about 45 minutes, said Francis Cofran, Ala Moana Center general manager.

One of those stores, Foodland Super Market, was already open when police cleared the parking lot and businesses along Kona Street. The market opens at 6 a.m. A manager said there were customers in the store when police told them to evacuate at 7 a.m.

A few doors down, Regina Lugue was preparing to open Saint-Germain Bakery at 7 a.m. when police told her to evacuate. She was at work by 6 a.m. and said police initially told her to stay inside the bakery.

Putzulu said there is no evidence to suggest the fake bomb at Ala Moana is the work of a copycat influenced by the terror plot discovered yesterday in Britain.

"It might just be someone trying to see what kind of excitement they can cause," he said.