Prop Grenade Causes Scare; No Threat Posed to University

Update at 9:14PM: According to the official Temple University Twitter account, the object was a prop grenade left behind in the hotel room by a film student:

 

Students received an alert Sunday evening of a suspicious device found in Conwell Inn, located at the intersection of Pollett Walk and Liacouras Walk.

According to the initial alert sent shortly before 6PM, the area was evacuated immediately. A front desk attendant at Conwell Inn

said that the device in question was found in a vacant room by housecleaning staff and was deemed safe, before declining to comment further.

Temple University Police Department officers at the sub-station located next door to the hotel gave no comment.

A subsequent TU alert sent roughly ten minutes later stated that the Philadelphia Bomb Squad removed the device and the area was reopened. The alert  was followed by a sigh of relief for students in the immediate area.

“It’s just so scary,” one passerby who did not wish to be identified said, minutes after the area was re-opened. “I guess you can never be too careful.”