The magazine had been with a bag containing an AR-15 rifle and other magazines and ammunition that fell out of the back of a law enforcement officer's vehicle and was quickly recovered by city police last week, authorities said.
Several vehicles apparently ran over the loaded AR-15 magazine Monday morning, prompting the closure of Hackensack Avenue between Temple Avenue and the highway for roughly 15 minutes, they said.
There were no shots fired, no spent casings found, no lockdown of the nearby Bergen County Technical School and no criminal incidents resulting, a ranking law enforcement officer said.
"There was no threat," he said. "It was simply a lost magazine. It's been recovered."
(A magazine is a removable, spring-powered device that feeds bullets into a firearm.)
The bag that fell out of the officer's vehicle was found several blocks away -- on Clay Street near Carver Park -- shortly before dawn on Nov. 1.
None of the dropped items belonged to Hackensack police.
"It was an accident," a ranking law enforcement officer said. "Apparently, the lock on the rear hatch of the vehicle didn't engage, which left the hatch ajar. The items were leaning inside right by the edge and fell out."
The officer was quickly located and the items were returned, as was the magazine found Monday.
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