Unattended Salad Raises Terror Alert

From the Post-Gazette:

A salad left unattended in a bag under a restroom sink prompted the closing of the Grant Street entrance to the Allegheny County Courthouse and the evacuation of county Chief Executive Dan Onorato's office for about an hour this afternoon.

Bomb sniffing dogs were sent into the ladies room after a paper bag was spotted about 1:20 p.m.

Officials said a salad was found in the bag, and the alert was lifted by 2:20 p.m.

Officers said their actions were a precaution. Other entrances remained open and courts remained in session, but a second office, that of the controller's payroll division, also was evacuated.

The County Police Department has been on high alert for suspicious plant related terrorism since hiring a new self defense instructor (pictured below), who has trained the force in how to defend themselves against passion fruit, oranges, apples, grapefruit, pomegranates, greengages, grapes, lemons, plums, mangoes in syrup, cherries, and bananas.



County Executive Dan Onorato has launched and inquiry as to why more training has not been done regarding pointed sticks.