Suspicious Package Clears Lodi Supermarket, Rattles Employees, Disappoints Seniors Out Shopping

"A suspicious package is usually somebody's lunch," someone once said. But that doesn't mean authorities don't take all precautions to protect the public.

The Bergen County Sheriff's Bomb Squad did their thing at the ShopRite on Main Street in Lodi on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
Photo Credit: *Kyle Mazza/UNF News for DAILY VOICE*

The taped-up blue box was found at the ShopRite on Main Street in Lodi.
Photo Credit: *Kyle Mazza/UNF News for DAILY VOICE*

From a safe distance....
Photo Credit: *Kyle Mazza/UNF News for DAILY VOICE*

One for the trophy case?
Photo Credit: *Kyle Mazza/UNF News for DAILY VOICE*

Jerry DeMarco

11/15/2023 1:54 p.m.

Which is exactly what the Bergen County Sheriff's Bomb Squad did on Wednesday after a taped-up box was found at the ShopRite in Lodi.

The supermarket on Main Street was cleared around 11:30 a.m. Nov. 15.

Police blocked off all entrances and exits and remained poised nearby with Lodi firefighters and county sheriff's officers as the bomb techs did their thing.

Some of the ShopRite employees seemed teary-eyed and shaken by the ordeal. A busload of seniors who'd been taken shopping there had to be turned away.

Meanwhile, two TV news choppers hovered overhead.

Inside the cellophane-taped blue box, swaddled in golden cloth, was... a trophy, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton said.

The yellow police tape was removed, the all-clear was given and everyone in the area returned to their day.

It was suggested the sheriff's bomb techs keep the trophy as a symbol of their commitment unless or until someone comes to claim it.

If it was yours, call the Bergen County Sheriff's Office at: (201) 336-3500. Be sure to have proof.

Kyle Mazza/UNF News took the photos and contributed to this story.

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