Novelty cigarette lighter gives bomb scare

NEWS 9

Oklahoma City police are investigating a bomb scare that caused a panic near the Oklahoma City National Memorial Friday afternoon.

Officers cordoned off the area between the Memorial and the downtown federal building after someone spotted an object that resembled a grenade.

When officers arrived they found the object was a novelty cigarette lighter designed to look like a grenade.

"It was directly to the south of NW 6 Street next to Lamppost. It does appear it was set there deliberately," Oklahoma City Police Dept. Sgt. Paco Balderrama said.

Police say they recovered the cigarette lighter and are investigating this hoax as a crime.