Bomb Scare in San Francisco’s Union Square: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

UPDATE: Police Have Given the ‘All Clear’

Union Square businesses are expected to reopen momentarily after police gave the “all clear” following a bomb scare that left the streets deserted.

Local blogger and radio host Rich Lieberman tweets that the suspicious object, alternately described as a package or even device, was just a backpack that contained no explosives:

Original story below.

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San Francisco’s Union Square and the surrounding 1-block radius has been evacuated due to a suspicious package, object or “device.”

Streets are deserted in the the normally bustling area — which houses many high-end retail stores, including Apple and Prada.

Here’s what we know about this breaking story.

1. A Suspicious Device or Package Was Discovered Just Before Noon

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the object in question was found by a police officer “on the Stockton Street side of the park at 11:47 a.m. …”

This is near the intersection of Geary and Stockton streets:

2. Bomb Squad & Canine Units Are On-Scene

3. The October 20 Nike Women’s Marathon Starts at Union Square

At noon today at the Nike Expotique, runners were set to arrive and pick up their race packets.

4. Business Along the Square Are Being Told to Shelter in Place or Leave Through Back Doors

People are instructed to avoid the area. Authorities are on high alert, with helicopters circling and a massive police presence on the ground.

5. Public Transit Is Avoiding the Area