By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — The discovery of a pressure cooker in a second floor restroom of the Adoba Hotel May 27 caused the evacuation of several floors which lasted for a few hours.
The Dearborn Police Department has since closed the investigation and determined that there was no danger.
The cooker was found by a hotel guest around 9:45 p.m. and hotel management was informed. They notified the DPD and then directed an evacuation of several floors of the hotel.
The DPD Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team was called to the hotel around midnight and determined that the cooker did not contain explosives.
Police Lt. Douglas Topolski said an investigation into the cooker showed that it was not dangerous and that the police believe that it was left behind by a guest.
“There was a broken handle on the cooker and food remnants in it, so we suspect that someone had brought the cooker in for an event or gathering and then either left it in the hall and someone put it in the bathroom or that they simply left it in the bathroom themselves,” Topolski said.
Topolski added that police do not believe that the incident was connected in a negative way with events that were taking place in the hotel. The Universal Muslim Association of America was holding “The Conference of Ali” that night.
No one was hurt and guests were allowed to re-enter the building around 1 a.m.
“It appears that the appliance had been used initially for the purpose for which it had been manufactured,” Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a statement. “We do not know the intent of the person who decided to leave it in the restroom but all proper precautions were taken to ensure the safety of hotel guests and first responders.”
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)