WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue Armory was evacuated for about 90 minutes Monday morning (Nov. 17) after university police evacuated the facility when a suspicious container was found on the building’s north side.
Police evacuated the Armory and closed off northbound University Street at Third Street shortly after the call came in at about 8:45 a.m. Purdue police Lt. Mike Boesch said approximately 100-150 people were evacuated. Both University Street and the Armory were reopened about 10:15 a.m.
Boesch said that at about 8:45 a.m. a groundskeeper found the small, military ammunition-type box atop a plastic toolbox near a bush on the north side of the Armory. The box was about 6 inches wide, 12 inches long and 8 inches tall. The groundskeeper opened the box, which contained black powder and other commonly available reloading supplies for a muzzleloading-type gun.
The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad took the package from the scene, and Purdue police continue to investigate the incident.
