A suspicious package found at the Federal Building in Rochester on Tuesday morning caused some big traffic tie-ups in that area.
The package was found during a routine sweep by security personnel at about 8 a.m.
Rochester Police cordoned off several blocks near that building and the nearby Holiday Inn, and traffic along State Street was backed up onto Lake Avenue, with cars being diverted onto ramps at the Inner Loop.
Among those who had to evacuate the building was Elias Farah who does work at the Social Security offices in the building. When he arrived, police moved him and some other employees to the loading dock area.
"They wouldn't even let the judges in, so they asked us to leave the building…cleared everyone outside, they moved us right outside of the building, then they pushed us back a little bit further," Farah explained.
Deputy Police Chief Scott Peters says that the package was discovered just outside the State Street entrance to the building, and it appears it had been placed there rather than mailed. He didn't want to go into details about what the package looks like, because of the ongoing investigation, but he did say, "It was made to look suspicious, but there was never any danger to anybody."
The bomb squad was brought in to check out the package. Peters notes, incidentally, that they were going to be training on Tuesday and says this gave them some real-world training.
Streets are expected to be back open by late morning.
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