Update: We have a new video with both Austin Mahone and interviews with local fans from West Boca High, Spanish River High, and Olympic Heights High as well.
Lexi Segal from West Boca High sent us this picture of her with Mahone:
There were well over 100 fans waiting to see him, mostly teenage girls. We talked to a few from local high schools including West Boca, Spanish River and Olympic Heights and we will post a video with that later on. It appears that Mahone has done some kind of endorsement deal with 7/11 related to Slurpees, which were handed out to the fans who were waiting and you can see them in the photo at the top of the article. When Mahone arrived the crowd did cheer loudly for him. We caught his arrival in a series of photos: Copyright Warren Redlich 2015. Copyright Warren Redlich 2015 Copyright Warren Redlich 2015 Copyright Warren Redlich 2015 As we understand it, Mahone’s fan club member received a tweet announcing this event, along with the following image: We will post a follow-up story with those interviews and more video later this evening or tomorrow.
Around 10 am today we were tipped off to a situation at Mission Bay Plaza. Readers and friends told us that there was a heavy police presence along with fire trucks. We headed over and took both pictures and video. The main part of the story is a “suspicious package” that was found in the parking area between TD Bank and Bank of America. You can see a wide version of the scene in our photo at top. It took some time but eventually the Sheriff’s “EOD” team (Explosive Ordnance Disposal or bomb squad) determined that the package was safe to handle. In the sequence of photos below you can see an armored bomb squad member approach it, pick it up, and then start bringing it to their truck along with another team member who is even more heavily armored. PBSO tells us this was not the package in question, but watching it on scene we don’t see what else it could have been. Another reader agrees with PBSO though:
There was something else made up of an umbrella, some sort of plastic container with a water bottle and some coins.
Please note that all photos in this article are copyrighted by Warren Redlich. Media are welcome to reuse them by simply crediting @WestBocaNews or WestBocaNews.com. Most photos are available in higher resolution just by clicking on them.
There was a lot of police and fire rescue activity around the plaza. A large section of the parking lot and the area around the two banks were evacuated and blocked off by police tape. The bomb squad truck was in operation near Bank of America. After the package was secured, the heavily armored bomb squad team member got some help getting the helmet off. The suspicious package itself just looks like a tool kit: We asked PBSO for comment:
We received a call from Bank of America, located on Glades Road and 441, of a suspicious package. Deputies arrived evacuated both Bank of America and TD Bank then contained the area until Bomb and Arson arrived. Bomb and Arson arrived checked out the package and determined that there was no threat. Both banks were opened to continue business as usual.
We shot some video at the scene. Here’s our initial report:
Here's our initial report from the scene at Mission Bay this morning. Our full report is coming soon.
A reader tipped us off to an accident earlier today on Palmetto Park Road at Lyons. This was on the westbound side and was blocking two lanes when we passed by a few minutes later. We also have some video. First here’s how it looked approaching the scene coming from the east:
And this is how the vehicles looked up closer:
And here are a couple more pictures from the reader: Traffic backed up a little on Palmetto Park but it wasn’t that bad.
A reader sent us a short video of the aftermath of a car accident on 441 near Palmetto Park Road.
From other readers we’re told that this was a four-car pileup. Northbound traffic on 441 was badly backed up earlier. It’s still a problem at this writing but it appears to be a lot better.
We’ve had a couple of complaints from readers about thieves stealing Halloween decorations in Mission Bay. Now one reader submitted a security camera video of a theft.
Joe Petrolino lives in Mission Bay’s Harbour Springs development, on the south side of Glades Road near Diego Drive. The two people in the video look like teenage girls, driving a dark colored sedan. We’d suggest that people bring their inflatables and anything else valuable in at night. This incident apparently happened around 2 or 3 am. Update: WPTV covered this story as well.
