Wheaton, Illionis, June 11, 2019
Photo: stjwheaton.org
A suspicious package was found outside of St. Joseph Orthodox Church (OCA) in Wheaton, Illinois on Monday evening as the parish council gathered to hold their monthly meeting.
Rector Fr. Joseph Kopka writes on the parish’s Facebook page: “The box looked very questionable and had an unsigned letter taped on top. The letter mentioned that there was some sort of electronic device inside and provided a direction on how to ‘make it work.’”
The Wheaton police were contacted, who quickly arrived together with the DuPage County Bomb and Arson squad to detonate the device, Fr. Joseph writes. The parish council had to evacuate the fellowship hall and local residents were also evacuated.
Deputy Chief Bob Miller of the Wheaton Police notes that the package had a “bizarre note on it” and was “all taped up,” reports CBS Chicago.
“We wanted to just render it safe because we didn’t know what it was,” he said. “The note didn’t really make sense. It described that it was numerous electronic devices in the box. The box was completely taped up, just to the point that it didn’t look like UPS delivered the box in any way.”
At 10 PM, the City of Wheaton Government reported: “Bomb Squad has rendered device safe and street will reopen shortly. It appears to have been an electronic doorbell that was wrapped up and sealed in a large box with a typed note on top. Wheaton PD will continue investigation to determine who left box at church doors. The area is safe.”
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