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Police photographed the explosive they found at the park adjacent to the Kahuku School complex today. (Mary Vorsino/mvorsino@staradvertiser.com)
Department of Education officials lifted a lockdown at the 2,000-student Kahuku school complex after police determined “a suspicious device” found in a nearby park posed no threat.
Kahuku Elementary and Kahuku Middle and High Schools were placed in lockdown just after 8 a.m. after a suspicious device was reported at Kahuku District Park.
Police Lt. Wayne Wong said the item posed no threat. He would not say what the item — a glass beverage bottle wrapped in camouflage-pattern material and black electrical tape — contained.
Late this afternoon, however, HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu described the object as “an incendiary device,” although she did not elaborate.
The police Specialized Services Division used its robots to search the large playground for the item.
The lockdown at the Kahuku complex was lifted at 10:41 a.m. and students resumed their school day. Students will be allowed to go home only if parents call in to the school to give their permission, otherwise they will attend class as usual, officials said.
The Specialized Services Division was called to Kahuku District Park, at 56-170 Pualalea St., after a parks employee found the item about 6:30 a.m. and called police, Wong said. The park was evacuated and police notified school officials.
The DOE says there are 484 students enrolled in Kahuku Elementary and 1,559 in the middle and high schools.
The police action did not affect business at Kahuku Federal Credit Union and the Kualauloa Community Center, which are also near the park.
