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Briefcases Cause Scare At Jewish Community Center

WEST BLOOMFIELD (WWJ) - The Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield was evacuated late Tuesday afternoon after two "suspicious" briefcases were spotted in the bushes out front.

The cases, one black one brown, apparently were seen as cause for alarm -- just one day following a bomb attack at the Boston Marathon that killed three and injured more than 170 people.

Employees at the center were evacuated as a precaution as police investigated the items that had been placed near the entrance to the Berman Center for the Performing Arts, which sits on the center's ground at 15 Mile Road and Drake.

A Michigan State Police bomb squad found that the cases were empty.

"Why don't know why these two briefcases were left there," said West Bloomfield Police Chief Mike Patton. "Was it just inadvertent? Was someone trying to create a commotion? We don't know at this time."

Patton said they'll review security footage to find out where the cases came from.

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