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Hundreds of people with places to go and people to see were evacuated from Birmingham New Street Station in the UK on Friday, Nov. 4, after an emergency alert went out over a suspicious package security thought was a bomb. Turns out, it was just a weed grinder… in the shape of a grenade, according to the BBC.
All services in and out of the station were suspended at around 3 pm, as a result. Commuters were allowed back in an hour and a half later, but disruption lasted until the end of the day.
“The item has now been assessed by specialist officers and is no longer being treated as suspicious,” British Transport Police said.
Birmingham New Street is the busiest station outside of London, so the security alert impacted many people. Commuters were turned away, while others were left stuck on trains outside the station.
One passenger posted on social media: “Birmingham New Street evacuation, been told to get as far away from building as possible. Undercover police vehicles and ambulances at the scene.”
According to another passenger, police officers at the main entrance had been shouting at people to move away ASAP and to “get back onto New Street now.” Others said they were stuck on trains outside the station.
Local fire services were also there working alongside British Transport Police.
The National Rail said that trains may still be “canceled, revised, or delayed by more than an hour-and-a-half as services return to normal.”
Many replacement bus services were put on to help get people where they needed to go, but most people had to rely on alternate modes of transportation to get to their next destination.
To think, all of this chaos started over a weed grinder.
