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Socom Stands Down After Bomb Scare At Parking Lot

News Channel 8 photo by CHRIS COYNER

Tampa police blocked traffic from a gate to MacDill Air Force Base after a security sweep indicated a possible bomb threat.

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By SAMARA SODOS

News Channel 8

Published: September 2, 2008

Updated: 09/02/2008 03:59 pm

TAMPA - The evacuation of the acquisitions and logistics building at U.S. Special Operations Command is over, said MacDill Air Force Base spokeswoman Rebecca Heyse.

The all-clear signal was issued shortly after 3:30 p.m.

Traffic again is flowing in and out of the Dale Mabry gate, said Tampa Police Department spokeswoman Andrea Davis.

During a routine security sweep about 1 p.m., a bomb-sniffing dog encountered something in the visitor's reception parking lot at MacDill, Heyse said. Socom was evacuated because of its proximity, Heyse said.

An Air Force bomb squad unit responded, and the Dale Mabry gate, at Dale Mabry Highway and Interbay Boulevard, was closed. The Bayshore and MacDill gates remained open, Heyse said.

Earleir this afternoon, MacDill Air Force Base security called the Tampa Police Department to divert traffic from the gate at Dale Mabry HIghway and Interbay Boulevard, police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said.

The call came in at 1:54 p.m., and four units were dispatched, Davis said.

Tribune Editor Howard Altman contributed to this report.

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