A fake missile prompted a bomb scare in the Flatiron District on Wednesday, according to the NYPD.
Police responded to a “suspicious package” at around 12:20 p.m. on West 21st Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, shutting down the block to traffic and evacuating nearby buildings, according to accounts from Twitter, after what appeared to be an “old-timey” missile was discovered.
Police deemed the area safe after responders realized the apparent explosive device was a phony. The package, shaped like a missile with tail fins, was “filled with documents and paperwork,” according to an NYPD spokesman.
It was not immediately clear how the package ended up in the area. Gothamist reported that the package was possibly a time capsule from the famed Danceteria nightclub, which had an address nearby, at 30 W. 21st St. Calls to the former club owner were not returned.
Alexis Todd, a Queens resident who works in the area, said the bomb scare sent her and her co-workers fleeing from her building for what she described as a forced evacuation. Eventually, she was instructed to not return and work remotely.
“It was one of those grab-and-dash situations,” said Todd, who works for a health care company at 38 W. 21st St. “We were not sure what was happening; we were just running down the stairs.”
