Streets blocked, a Bomb and Arson squad called in – all that jazz because a photographer left a suspicious hard black box on the steps of the City Hall in Kansas City, Missouri.
You think anyone would know better than to leave a suspicious black case on the steps of a public building. Alas! A couple of days ago, the Bomb and Arson squad of Kansas City police detonated a package early in the morning, only to discover that it contained a tripod and other camera gears.
In the times we are living in, a suspicious package will stir the distrust of anyone. At 3:40 a.m. on the15th of August, it was reported by 41 Action News that security guards discovered a hard black case on the south steps of the City Hall building in Kansas City, Missouri. The police were called in and they brought the Bomb and Arson Unit with them. A perimeter was set up and several streets were shut down to avoid any casualties if the worse happened.
At around 6.30 a.m., reporters heard a clear boom. The squad had set up a controlled space to proceed to the detonation the suspicious package. Turns out from the examination of the debris, that the case had contained camera equipment forgotten by a photographer. Quite a bomb scare.
It may happen that I leave my camera bag unattended for a couple of minutes while shooting something, but to leave a big black case full of gear and to forget all about it for hours… Never! Knowing how much any photographer values his gears, and depends on it for work, I cannot imagine how this happened. It will be a massive shock for this photographer when he finds out how his equipment has been blown to bits and pieces. I hope that he has got a very good insurance to cover up his negligence!
[via KSHB 41 Action News]
Insurance probably won't pay since it involved a police action.
Insurance shouldn't pay for it. Sheer stupidity. That's negligence. It's like losing something, most insurance companies won't cover for that.
Negligence indeed! He will be quite sorry when he finds out.
Man. I would have figured a "bomb squad" would have better methods of detecting traces of a bomb.
Now that they know its camera gear, I wonder if they will be able to find a serial number on any lenses or cameras and run it through Lenstag to maybe get a lead.
As far as the owner, maybe the box fell off his truck or roof rack something.
That's the only logical conclusion I can think of, other than he got wasted after an assignment...
A good reason (among many others) to stencil/paint your info (with phone number?) on the outside of your Pelican: https://fstoppers.com/location/developing-light-kit-any-situation-2666
Guarantee insurance wouldn't pay. Any destruction, confiscation or seizure by government or public authority is not covered.