A bomb scare at the South Bay Galleria ended peacefully this morning, just two hours after the Redondo Beach Police Department was notified by Galleria security. The all-clear was given at 11:20 a.m., lifting an evacuation order that forced mall employees to clear stores and wait along sidewalks and curbs on the northeast side of the mall.
The cause of the scare was an unidentified package left at the mall’s west doors by a “lone male” this morning around 7 a.m., according to Galleria security footage. “That behavior itself appeared suspicious, so Redondo Beach Police were notified at 9:06 a.m.,” RBPD Lieutenant Joe Hoffman said. “We responded and made a determination that it would be most appropriate to evacuate the mall and surrounding areas, and notified the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad to come in and properly make an assessment of the package.”
The bomb squad’s assessment, following the use of a robot and an access charge, was that the package “does not contain any sort of explosive or harmful device,” Hoffman said.
“The response was excellent,” said Steve Sammarco, Redondo Beach District 4 Councilman. Sammarco was on scene to survey the situation. “Within minutes they were here cordoning off the area, other agencies were here to support,” he said. “That’s the kind of service folks expect, and they got it.”
Sammarco’s concerns didn’t stop when RBPD rolled up the police tape, however. “One of the things that concerns us is the possibility that this was some sort of ‘trial run’ for the future, trying to see how we respond,” he said, indicating that he considers the mall to be a “soft target.”
“That’s what terrorists are going after these days,” he said.
Public safety, Sammarco said, “is a big issue. Over the last two years, we’ve gotten rid of a lieutenant, two officers and we have no one on the Joint Terrorism Task Force representing Redondo Beach. This is a perfect example of why we need that person.”
Sammarco said that he has argued for increased public safety funding in ongoing budget discussions. The Redondo Beach City Council will vote to approve its new budget on June 16.
“We’ve been cutting police and we have to reverse that pattern,” he said. “It’s what our residents deserve.”
