LEXINGTON, Ky (WKYT) – We are learning new details about an RV parked in downtown Lexington that caused evacuations due to a bomb scare.
It turned out to be a false alarm, but caused a major disruption in the center on New Year’s Eve.
He tells us that an Ohio family who housed the camper in one of the downtown hotels rented the camper. It didn’t fit in the garage, so they parked it in a downtown parking lot.
This provoked suspicion on a busy night in the city center, which sparked a police K-9 alerting them. A police robot was then taken to look for explosives.
Fortunately, nothing was found, but it still caused a major disruption. Restaurants, bars and hotels were evacuated on a busy night in the city center.
Heather Cardwell spent the night in the city center. He says they were just getting ready to leave when they evacuated his hotel.
It wasn’t something she expected, but they were able to save her plans and go somewhere else for dinner. Still, he realizes that for many businessmen what happened Thursday night was the last thing they wanted.
“I really feel sorry for the local restaurants that had in mind that it was going to be a better night to start the new year,” Cardwell said. “I think this was ruined by the incident.”
“It simply came to our notice then. It was a very interesting night, “said Debbie Long, owner of Dudley’s in Short.
When they found out everything, a lot of people had gone home.
At Dudley’s on Short, workers ate again at the table, candles were still burning, and an empty restaurant. A terrible time, which owner Debbie Long says hurts, not just her, but her staff.
“It would have been nicer at three yesterday afternoon or today, where there is no open business,” Long said. “But at eight on New Year’s Eve. If I could have chosen the worst time probably, it would be this. But we can’t choose these times. “
We contacted the Lexington Police Department for more information on what exactly caused the K-9 to alert the RV. They have published this statement:
We did not identify the cause of the alert. Canines occasionally affect a combination of odors or residual odors of previous charge. The RV was a rental, so there’s no way of knowing what might be there before. This does not necessarily mean that the previous occupants had explosives. They could have been fireworks, fertilizers or some other similar legal product.
In a statement, Mayor Linda Gorton thanked officers for their diligence in protecting the public.
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