Police: Water Bottle On Manhole Closes Albuquerque Streets

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say a suspicious device that was left on a road outside a courthouse and prompted authorities to close some streets was a water bottle. It was left on a smoking manhole cover, prompting a scare that Officer Tanner Tixier says ended up being a false alarm. Police said Wednesday morning that they were questioning a "suspect" as they investigated a potentially explosive device. Tixier said the person who was being questioned had fled the area on foot. But it turned out, the man who was on his way to a meeting saw smoke coming from the manhole and placed a water bottle on it so that firefighters could find it after he was able to report his concern. Smoke was coming out of the manhole because the city was testing its pipe systems.