Wilshire Boulevard was closed in both directions between Mansfield and La Brea avenues during the morning rush hour Tuesday while police investigated a suspicious package found at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Sycamore Avenue.

The LAPD’s Bomb Squad determined a suspicious package outside a Jack in the Box on Wilshire Boulevard was an empty suitcase. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Bomb Squad was summoned, and they determined the package to be an empty suitcase left unattended near the sidewalk outside a Jack in the Box restaurant at the northwest corner of the intersection, LAPD spokesman Drake Madison said. The suitcase was reported at 5:25 a.m., and Wilshire Boulevard was reopened shortly before 9 a.m. Buildings in the immediate area of the intersection were temporarily evacuated, and traffic was detoured around the site.

Madison said the LAPD handles all reports of suspicious packages as threats to public safety. Each incident requires a thorough investigation.

“You never know what’s inside those things,” Madison said. “It was found to be empty, but whenever we see a suspicious package or something that can’t be accounted for, we investigate it that way.”