An advertising campaign for a late-night animated series went seriously wrong on Wednesday when police in Boston mistook the ads for explosive devices and shut down half the city.
The discovery of five suspect devices sent authorities into a tailspin, closing off major roads, suspending rail services and river transport and causing major disruption in the city as police investigated.
After some hours, Turner Broadcasting issued a statement saying that the so-called suspect devices were actually part of a marketing campaign for the series Aqua Teen Hunger Force on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim section.
“The ‘packages’ in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger,” said the statement from Turner Broadcasting System, according to ABC television.
“They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities in support of Adult Swim’s animated television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They have been in place for two to three weeks.”
It said the company was in contact with police on how to resolve the issue.
“We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger,” it said.
Police Commissioner Edward Davis earlier in the day said he was unaware who was behind the devices, but a police spokesperson later said authorities were digesting the statement from Turner.
“There’s nothing that we have found that indicates any danger to the people who are coming into or out of the city,” Davis told reporters, describing the day’s security operation as a major strain on police resources.
“I think we are all relieved that the devices found so far have proven to be hoax devices,” Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick added.
One of the five devices was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
Local reports said that officials had described one device as containing an electronic circuit board with some components that were “consistent with an improvised explosive device”, but that it contained no explosives.
Other reports said the devices contained circuit boards featuring a cartoon that lit up a figure making an obscene gesture.
Security alerts have become a frequent occurrence in the United States ever since the attacks of September 11 2001, the vast majority of which turn out to be false alarms or hoaxes. — AFP