Suspicious device shuts down U.S.-Mexico border crossing in San Diego
A suspicious device resembling an explosive led authorities to close a busy border crossing between San Diego, California, and Mexico, halting vehicle and pedestrian traffic, according to police. A bomb squad later determined that the item was not an explosive.
Police received a report of a suspicious device at about 8:30 a.n. on Wednesday at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, San Diego Police Lieutenant Cesar Jimenez said in a briefing. Officers found the item inside the border facility near an area accessible to pedestrians.
“It looks like an electric device with wires coming out of it and going into a metal box,” Jimenez said.
Officers called in the department’s bomb squad after examining the item. Jimenez said people were nearby and authorities closed the crossing because of the potential danger had the device contained explosives.
Several surrounding streets and freeway exits were also closed. Police asked people to avoid the area and directed travelers to the San Ysidro Port of Entry while specialists investigated.
The bomb squad determined that the device was not explosive and removed it, allowing the crossing to reopen. Police are still working to identify the item and determine who placed it there and why. No one is in custody.
Otay Mesa connects San Diego with Tijuana in Mexico’s Baja California state. It is east of San Ysidro, another major crossing between the two cities.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
