UPDATE: Police Detonate Suspicious Package Downtown

A significant portion of downtown New London was brought to a standstill on Tuesday morning as police responded to, and detonated, a suspicious package found outside .

Deputy Chief Marshall Segar of the said a maintenance worker at the train station found the package and reported it. The overstuffed canvas and leather bag was leaning against a pillar north of the station, near the .

The area around Parade Plaza was cordoned off while officers worked on the scene. The station, bus depot, ferry terminal, waterfront, , and part of the building were evacuated. Amtrak train service through New London was halted, as were regularly scheduled ferry trips. One ferry was permitted to leave during the incident, but another was turned away as it attempted to dock. Bank Street was shut off at the Tilley Street intersection, and State Street was blocked at the intersection with Eugene O'Neill Drive.

Members of the Connecticut State Police and submarine base in Groton were called to the scene after the package was X-rayed. Later in the morning, after an inspector with the bomb squad had examined the package, the crowds of workers and delayed commuters were pushed back to the intersection of State Street and Eugene O'Neill. The package was detonated with a water cannon device at about 12:30 p.m., and access to the buildings was reopened soon after.

Deputy Police Chief Marshall Segar said Water Street directly in front of the station would remain closed to traffic while police worked on the scene. He said the package contained no explosives, but did include small electronic devices not typically found in luggage, including coaxial cable.

"The contents of the package are inert, but they are a little odd," he said. "We have good leads as to who it belongs to, and we hope to release more information soon."

David Foulkes, officer manager at , said a police officer evacuated the office in the train station around 10:15 a.m. He was among the crowd waiting for the scene to be cleared, saying his car was parked within the cordoned area.

"I just expect this is somebody's bag they forgot to pick up when they got on the bus or train," he said.

Amber Allen, who was looking to return to Pennsylvania after visiting family in Niantic, said Amtrak was helpful in figuring out the delays. She said she would catch the next available train to Philadelphia and a connection from there.

"It's not that big a deal," she said. "They run every half hour."

Ray Squires, an assistant professor at and postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, had planned on catching a train to New Haven to conduct experiments with the food borne pathogen listeria. He said he planned to continue them even if it would lead to a delay in his own schedule.

"I'm going to have to start the experiment later. But I'd like to go at the end of the day," he said.