Covington fire crews use water cannon to blast open suspicious suitcase at O'Reilly Auto Parts

COVINGTON, Ky. - There were more than a few anxious moments around Madison Avenue and 16th Street in Covington Saturday afternoon after a suspicious suitcase was found inside the O'Reilly Auto Parts store.

After not being able to figure out what was inside the box, Covington fire officials called for assistance from the Cincinnati Fire Department, which brought along a mobile x-ray unit to figure out what was inside. After x-raying the package and not being able to identify its contents, the package was blown up with a water cannon as a precautionary measure.

"We shot an x-ray, saw nothing to give them an indication either way in the package," Covington Fire Department Area Chief John Masters said. "So it was decided to blow it with a water cannon to blow the hinges and see what was inside and it turned out it was just an empty suitcase."

The Covington Fire Department closed off several blocks of Madison Avenue around 16th Street for more than an hour.

According to the police report, nothing that would have been harmful or dangerous was found inside the suitcase.

The reporting parties notified police when the unattended luggage was found inside the store.