Yikes

It might be a good idea to leave work right now. If your commute was horrendous this morning, it's due to get much worse this afternoon. When I heard a "suspicious device" was found on I-93 near Sullivan Square this morning, I figured it was the handiwork of some hooligans from Charlestown. But then four more of these things were discovered this afternoon: Two were in the underpinnings of the Longfellow and BU bridges, a third at N.E. Medical Center, and a fourth at the intersection of Columbus Ave and Stuart Street near the Park Plaza. The Boston Police said all of them resembled "improvised explosive devices" or IEDs but none was deemed dangerous or explosive. They detonated them anyway and scared the bejesus out of all those pigeons nesting in the rafters. Homeland Security just issued a statement calling these incidents a "cruel hoax." But still...yikes. If this were "24," the fake devices would have been decoys to divert law enforcement resources away from a larger-scale attack planned for later in the day. It's likely just some drunk, bored college kids.