Possible 'Pipe Bomb' at Armory Found to be Harmless

The discovery of a pipe with caps on both ends prompted a response to the National Guard Armory on Eggerts Crossing Road by the New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad and Lawrence Township police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel on Wednesday afternoon, May 11.

Township officials said the suspicious-looking pipe was spotted near a Dumpster-like trash container behind one of the buildings on the property a little before 3:30 p.m.

"In this post-9/11 world, they erred on the side of caution and treated it like it was a real device," one official, Lawrence Road Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Shaun Dlabik, said.

Armory staff notified township police, who in turn called out township career and volunteer firefighters and an ambulance crew from Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Service. The state police bomb squad was also requested.

A handful of people were evacuated to a safe distance and traffic on the armory property was detoured away from the area. 

After studying the outside of the "device," bomb squad personnel X-rayed it and found it was just an ordinary pipe filled with dirt, officials said, noting that the incident was all over by 5 p.m.