NY State Police lock down campus for suspicious package that contained developing supplies

 

 

It’s not a heavily contested argument that chemicals used to develop film and prints are unsafe when used in the incorrect manner. However, as harmful as they may be if accidentally ingested or soaked in through an open cut, it’s probably safe to say photo developing supplies aren’t dangerous enough to place an entire campus on lockdown and cause the evacuation of buildings.

But that’s exactly what happened at upstate New York’s Hamilton College. According to Press Connects, New York State Police were investigating a bomb and school shooting threat they received via phone call when they discovered a ‘suspicious package’ inside the Kirner-Johnson Administrative Building of Hamilton College.

After a full lockdown of the campus and immediate evacuation of the building containing the suspicious package, it was discovered via an X-ray machine that the package was nothing more than an abandoned container filled with supplies used for photographic development.

When no further packages were found and the location was deemed secure, the buildings were brought back into standard operation. The investigation is ongoing, but State Police confirmed there were no explosives found on campus.

Take this as a friendly reminder to not leave your photography gear laying around, whether it’s photo chemicals for Darkroom 101 or a DIY pinhole camera that might get mistaken for a pipe bomb.

Image credits: Tennessee State Trooper by Raymond Clarke Images