Bomb Scare Shuts Down Rowena Avenue Monday Night

A suspicious package at Silver Lake’s Coffee Table restaurant turned out to be nothing after the LAPD bomb squad spent several hours there looking over a bomb-like apparatus found outside on Monday night.

According to Sgt. James Zboravan of the LAPD’s Northeast Division, Coffee Table owner Michael Zamarippa called the division around 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Zamarippa had come outside to the front of the restaurant on Rowena Avenue and discovered what looked to him to be a pipe bomb.

LAPD officers were dispatched and could not confirm what the device was nor if it was left there intentionally.

“It could’ve fallen off a truck,” said Zboravan. “Our protocol is that if we can’t tell what it is, we call the bomb squad.”

“It takes about an hour for the squad to get there, “ he added.  “Then they have to suit up and get the robot out there.  We also have to evacuate the area and shut down the traffic flow.”

Police shut down Rowena Avenue until about 8 p.m. The area immediately surrounding the restaurant was evacuated.

Zboravan estimated that four or five bomb technicians and maybe 12 or 14 bomb squad officers were involved in the incident.

Echo Park Patch covers Echo Park, Silver Lake, Elysian Valley, Elysian Park and Historic Filipinotown.  That's a big crime beat, especially when you consider all the other great news we're bringing you.

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