Pressure cooker left at Lakeland gas station treated as potential bomb threat, LPD says

Lakeland police shut down one of the city's major intersections Friday afternoon because of a "suspicious incident," according to an LPD spokesperson.

Lakeland Police Department was notified of a pressure cooker left near a garbage can at one of the gas pumps at Shell gas station, 1920 Harden Blvd.

"Out of an abundance of precaution, we requested the Tampa Police Department's bomb squad respond to thoroughly inspect the item," LPD spokesperson Officer Stephanie Kerr wrote in a text message.

For approximately two hours, from about 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., the police department shut down more than a mile of Harden Boulevard, from Ariana Street south to Edgewood Drive, and all lanes of West Beacon Road, from Harden Boulevard east to Lincoln Avenue.

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All the potentially affected businesses and residents in the surrounding area were notified, according to Kerr.

"The police came in and told me I had to go," station employee Radhika Karki said. "We were closed for two hours."

The roadways were reopened about 2:30 p.m.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Pressure cooker left at Lakeland gas station treated as potential bomb threat, LPD says