Bomb squad sent to Selland Arena after suspicious package discovered in downtown Fresno

UPDATE: At 11:09 p.m., Fresno Police confirmed that the scene near Selland Arena was safe.

Police said a robot was used to examine a backpack and found only clothes inside.

Many people were starting to leave Selland Arena and head toward their vehicles.

LATEST STORY: A suspicious package was found Thursday night just outside of Selland Arena, according to Fresno Police, prompting the department to send a bomb squad to the same location where many families already were at to watch “Disney on Ice.”

The package in question was located near the loading dock of Valdez Hall and next to Selland Arena, according to Lt. Israel Reyes.

“If it’s some type of explosive device, we don’t take things lightly,” Reyes said.

Fresno Police taped off a few blocks near Inyo and M streets near the downtown Fresno arena, including parking lots where many families had parked earlier in the night to watch the popular Disney ice skating performance.

Roughly 3,000 people attended Disney on Ice, including many children.

Sometime just after 9 p.m., police started letting some people in their cars leave after being stuck in the parking lot for about 30 minutes.

Others in different parking lots, however, said they have been waiting to leave for more than an hour.

“We do understand that there are a lot of citizens here,” Reyes said. “We understand that there are a lot of frustrated people. Trust me, that is not lost upon the department.

“We do have to balance the safety of the community and obviously the people who are here in attendance.”

Disney on Ice goes on

Fresno Police received a call from a Fresno Convention personnel around 7:06 p.m. about a suspicious package located outside of Selland Arena.

At the same time, the first performance of four days of Disney on Ice showings was just underway.

Fresno Police said they were in communication with Selland Arena management of the possible threat outside of the venue.

“It’s their option to allow the venue to continue or to evacuate the building,” Reyes said.

The Disney on Ice showing was performed without interruption, all while the police presence grew outside.

The showing lasted roughly 1 hour, 40 minutes, according to a man who attended the Disney on Ice.

Then immediately after the showing, a public address announcement let patrons know there was police activity outside.

The crowd was asked to exit out the Selland Arena doors located on the M street side (west of the arena) or they could remain inside the venue for the time being.

Stuck inside Selland Arena

Though those who attended the Disney on Ice showing were given the option to vacate Selland Arena about 15 minutes after the showing, many stayed inside while waiting to get access to their vehicles that were parked on the east side of the venue (toward Cosmopolitan and O Street).

But after waiting for more than an hour inside the venue, many people started to get frustrated and anxious, according to Adriana Barnum, who attended Thursday’s ice skating performance.

“Everyone’s kids are starting to get tired; the adults are getting tired, too,” Barnum said. “Some kids are running around. Some are kind of scared after hearing there was a suspicious package.

“We’re all just trying to figure out what to do.”

Barnum, who went to the show with her six child, said a police officer informed those inside that people could still exit Selland Arena.

But they would not be able to retrieve their vehicles if parked on the east side of the venue for the time being while the bomb squad conducted its investigation.

Instead, police suggested that people get picked up at the Double Tree on M Street, though again, their vehicles would have to remain where they were parked.

Because her group consists of seven people, Barnum said she was trying to wait things out from inside Selland Arena until the bomb squad investigation was completed.

But she said the officer she spoke with admitted he wasn’t sure how long the bomb squad investigation would last, keeping people like Barnum in limbo.

“I guess I’ll just keeping sitting here,” Barnum said, “and wait and see.”

Bomb squad investigation

Police did not immediately provide specific details of what the suspicious package looked like.

But Reyes said Fresno Convention personnel expressed to police of their concerns of the package and that nobody claimed it after asking several people who it belonged to.

“At this point ... we do have our explosive ordinance disposal team here on the scene, trying to figure out how we’re going to approach it,” Reyes said. “We’re trying to move quickly as our EOD team ascertains if this package is dangerous.

“If it’s actually a bomb. Or if it was just a package left here by somebody.”

At 11:09 p.m., Fresno Police confirmed that the scene near Selland Arena was safe.

Police said a robot was used to examine a backpack, which was the suspicious package in question, and found only clothes inside.

People were starting to leave Selland Arena and heading to their vehicles.

The whole ordeal ended up lasting about 2 1/2 hours from the time the Disney on Ice showing ended until the bomb squad investigation concluded.