PHOTOS & VIDEO [UPDATED] About an hour after NJ Transit Terminal was evacuated for an unattended bag, multiple stores at the Shoprite Plaza were evacuated. Police evacuated the stores at about 2:00 PM when a small suitcase was left near a trash bin just outside the J2 Pizza Shop.
The area was closed off, and EMS and the Fire Department responded, along with the Sheriff’s K9 Unit.
The Suitcase turned out to be empty.
Officials have asked that TLS note that residents are asked to follow orders from Officials when being evacuated from a scene which could potentially put lives at risk. Officials tell TLS some residents refrained from evacuating the stores while they were shopping, until a Supervisor arrived. TLS-CCP.
i just don’t get it, when people are told to evacuate why don’t they listen. this could have been something really bad, you never know what could have been in that suitcase, we live in such a different world now. with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 upon us, you just don’t know what might happen, people should just listen and do what is asked of them
again i ask, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO CHARGE STUPID PEOPLE, FOR VERY EXPENSIVE STUPID ‘MISTAKES’???
(and this time please dont call me an anti-semi. none of the stories ever had a race or religion stated.)
why does lakewood have more cases like this, than any other town in monmouth & ocean counties?
Thank God it was a false alarm, many innocent people would’ve gotten hurt. Thanks LKWD PD for the quick response.
refrained from evacuating ? I guess getting blown to pieces is something thats not taken seriously by those who would not leave ,how stupid
better to be safe than sorry !!!!!!!!
don’t listen , get arrested. simple procedure. THat will fix the spoiled brat syndrome in a hurry.
why dont my comments work?
This is happening way too many times recently. Hope these incidents are not connected?
Stop leaving your empty bags on the side walks. Put them in your own garbage at home or dump them in a receptacle yourselves
Wow, two within a hour. Sounds like someone was testing response times and actions. That’s scary. About people not evacuating…I have to relate this story. Last year I was in NYC, trying to get to the M&Ms store in Times Square when we saw all kinds of fire trucks and emergency response vehicles come flying into the area. Pedestrian traffic got snarled, then stopped. The cops started to corral us south, and to get us to stick to the east side of the street. No explanation, so we just assumed it had to do with the FD, although as the daughter of a retired firefighter I thought we were far enough away for them to operate, why did they keep pushing us? Then the fire trucks started moving and we thought whatever it was was over and we could get to our store, but no. They were moving south too, then stopped. Weird. Everyone was looking around, we saw no smoke or anything, so no one was really listening to the cops and the cops had a hard time moving people. The horses finally arrived and that worked for most. I called my dad who was home to ask if he could find out anything. He tried to listen in on their radio band but said the NYFD was operating on a secure channel, which meant they didn’t want the general public knowing what was going on with their communications, which meant something BIG was going on. He told me to get out of there, it might be a bomb. So I did. And yes, it was a bomb, the Times Square Bomber bomb. Now, had a cop told me the same thing, I wouldn’t have dallied. And I can tell you now, I will not question the direction of a police officer anymore. But, it would have been nice to know, since at the furthest point north I had gotten, I was directly parallel and only the distance across the street of Broadway from the bomb. Sometimes, or perhaps, the urgency really needs to be conveyed in a way people will understand as grave. And for those that don’t listen, you need to use some horse power.
This is becoming an unbearable waste of our emergency services resources. You know sometimes a suitcase is just that…..a suitcase.
Lakewood doesn’t have more cases than other towns,it’s just that every move in Lakewwod is put in the news. Oh sorry not every move only the bad things.Maybe we should start to print some good things.