At about 6:24 p.m. Thursday, the Cape Coral police responded to a report of a suitcase left next to a Hess gas station, at 833 Cape Coral Parkway E. According to the caller, she noticed the suitcase sitting next to the building, near the ice machine with no one around it. She said she felt that it was very suspicious and called the police.

The woman believed that the suitcase was sitting at the location for at least 15 minutes.

A store employee reported that he did not know who the bag belonged to, but felt that it was suspicious enough to close the store prior to police arrival.

CCPD closed off the immediate area and cleared all people from the property and surrounding sidewalk. The emergency gas shut off was activated, turning off all fuel pumps. The local bomb squad responded to the scene and took over. Westbound traffic on Cape Coral Parkway was closed as the squad investigated the package.

The squad used a robot and a single-shot shotgun round to clear the suitcase. The suitcase was found to be empty. The suitcase was destroyed by the shot gun blast and was disposed of.

Source: Cape Coral Police Department