Beeping box causes evacuation

Residents of Hampshire Hall on Centre Avenue in Oakland fled the building when a mysterious… Residents of Hampshire Hall on Centre Avenue in Oakland fled the building when a mysterious beeping package triggered an emergency evacuation.

City police said that one of the building’s tenants placed the suspicious package before moving out on Monday.

A Hampshire Hall employee entered the recently vacated room the next morning and found a cardboard box lying on the floor. It was sealed shut with packing tape and emitting a series of high-pitched beeps.

The employee called city police. Moments later the building was cleared and the city’s bomb squad arrived.

An X-ray revealed that the box contained some sort of electronic device. Further examination showed that the beeping noise was the audible component of a sleep-interruption mechanism.

The bomb squad deactivated the alarm clock – presumably with the snooze button.