A bomb evacuation at Akron City Hall turned out to be a mistake accidentally caused by an Akron resident named, "Natural Hunka Kaboom."
CLEVELAND (CBS CLEVELAND) – An aluminum rod left in Akron City Hall caused an evacuation because someone had scrawled the word, “Kaboom” on it.
But after Akron Police, Fire, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the Summit County Bomb Squad cleared the scene – it turned out the rod was really a man’s walking stick, and the man’s legal name really was “Kaboom.”
The stick’s discovery at about 8:30 a.m., coupled with Kaboom’s explosive name, caused a brief panic as dozens of workers were evacuated. The stick had Kaboom’s name written over duct tape and some took the name as a threat. According to Ohio.com, Workers were out on South High Street while a police dog searched the building for any explosives. The workers were allowed back into the building just before 10 a.m.
The pipe is about 4-feet long with duct tape on each end. The words “Natural Hunka Kaboom” – the Akron resident’s real name — and other words were scrawled on the pipe, authorities told Ohio.com.
Kaboom is a regular attendee at the City Council meetings, and apparently left his metal walking stick outside council chambers following Monday’s session. The aluminum walking stick is actually an extendable shower rod that Kaboom had written his incendiary name on with duct tape.
Stephanie York, a spokeswoman for Mayor Don Plusquellic, said the pipe was on the third floor, which houses City Council chambers, the council clerk’s office and general offices.