New Mexico authorities said Monday that what appeared to be a “credible explosive device” — found on a rental car at Albuquerque International Sunport airport on Sunday — is a hoax.
There were “no explosives associated with the device,” said Thomas Mangan, spokesman for the Arizona Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms. It posed “no danger whatsoever to the public.”
Employees at a rental facility discovered the device after the car was put on a lift to be inspected. They immediately notified police.
“We are conducting an investigation to determine who constructed this hoax device,” Mangan said. “We’re moving forward and trying to make a determination. We take that matter very seriously.”
No flights were affected by the investigation, according to police, while rental car drop-offs and pick-ups resumed after the scene was cleared, the airport tweeted on Sunday.
“We’re not really commenting on any specifics at this time,” Mangan said when asked for confirmation that it was a customer who returned the car, and whether employees had access to it.
The ATF said it will continue the investigation and “will be interviewing those people that had access to that car.”