This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake City police say a suspicious package found in Sugar House on Friday evening did not contain explosives.
Employees of Sugar House BBQ discovered a "really big" pressure-cooker-like object outside their shop, located at 880 E. 2100 South, about 4 p.m., said SLCPD Lt. Robin Heiden.
"It looked like it had been placed there," she said.
As a safety precaution, police evacuated the barbecue restaurant and a nearby beauty shop; they also roped off 2100 South from 800 East to 950 East and 900 East from 1900 to 2200 South while a bomb squad investigated the area.
The team tried to X-ray the package, Heiden said, but could not because of how it was positioned. Officers instead "disrupted" the package about 8 p.m. People in the area reported hearing a "boom" about that time.
"It was a really loud bang," Heiden said.
The item did not contain electrical components, though Heiden said it was difficult for police to decipher what was inside after they blew up the object. The small-scale detonation did not cause "much damage" to the nearby buildings.
Because of the size of the object, police feared major damage could be inflicted if the device exploded without police intervention.
"It was so big that it could have taken out a large area," Heiden said.
The road was blocked off for about four hours, but crews cleaned up the area and reopened both streets about 9 p.m. Friday.
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