Grenade-shaped perfume bottle prompts courthouse evacuation

CINCINNATI: A suspicious item that prompted a Cincinnati courthouse evacuation turned out to be a perfume bottle shaped like a World War II grenade.
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil told reporters that the bottle was shaped like a “pineapple” hand grenade and was in a woman’s suitcase.
Deputies noticed the bottle, which had a cap and pin in it, as it went through an X-ray scanner in her suitcase.
“It looked like a World War II pineapple grenade. That was the design of it,” said Sheriff Jim Neil.
Judges, attorneys, courthouse employees and defendants were forced outside and local traffic was diverted as bomb-sniffing dogs were drafted in.
The pups highlighted that one of her other bags was also possibly suspicious.
Cops questioned the woman as robots were brought in to open up the potentially explosive suitcase.
Investigators determined there was no threat, but court officials had already decided to close the building for the rest of the day.The woman, who has not been named, was released and will not face charges.
Neil said the dogs were “just doing their job” in flagging up a potential hazard.
He added that a product in one of the bags could have contained peroxides or come into contact with fertilizer, prompting the dogs to react. “There’s a number of possible scenarios,” he said, “but the dog did its job,” he said.