Bomb Squad Clears Package Found At Tinker Air Force Base

Staff and Wire Reports

MIDWEST CITY, Oklahoma -- Tinker Air Force Base employees returned to work after a suspicious package found at a hangar was determined to be inert Tuesday morning.

Spokesman Ron Mullan said the all-clear was given late Tuesday morning after the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office bomb squad examined the object. Mullan said investigators determined the device was a hoax, but the incident remains under investigation.

The sheriff's office referred questions to base officials.

Officials say the package was reported about 7:35 a.m. Mullan said offices within a 500 to 1,000-foot radius of the hangar were emptied as a precaution.

Earlier in the day, a worker fatally shot himself in Building 3001, which houses the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center.

Mullan said the incidents aren't related.