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'Suspect object' triggers evacuation of Linköping police station

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
'Suspect object' triggers evacuation of Linköping police station
The suspect package was found at the entrance to the reception at Linköping police station. Photo: Jeppe Gustafsson/TT

UPDATED: The main police station in the Swedish city of Linköping was on Wednesday cordoned off after a suspicious object was found placed by the entrance, but police were later able to confirm it did not contain explosives.

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The discovery came shortly after an apartment building in the city in central Sweden was hit by a massive blast that could be heard 8 kilometres away. 
 
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"An object has been placed at the entrance to the reception of the police station," Thomas Agnevik, a press spokesperson for the local police, told the Expressen newspaper. "Our judgement is that we cannot be certain that this object is not capable of damaging the surrounding area." 
 
The object was first been spotted at the entrance to the building shortly after 5am.  
 
The local Östergötland police announced their decision at 7.21am on Twitter and on the police web page. 
As well as the police station, the next door criminal and civil courts have also been evacuated and cordoned off, as have two local schools. No evacuation of nearby housing was deemed necessary for safety reasons.
 
A division from Sweden's national bomb squad examined the object at the scene, and shortly before 11am police said they had been able to confirm that it did not contain any explosives, after firing at it earlier. The cordoned-off area was set to be "considerably reduced" according to a police statement, and a preliminary investigation into gross illegal threats was opened by police.
 
The press service for Sweden's courts wrote on Twitter that "all the day's hearings are cancelled". 
Fredrik Quist, who works for the courts, told the local Corren newspaper that about ten hearings had been planned for Wednesday. 

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