Keith PlocekWe've just received word that the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center has been evacuated in the middle of Anime Expo 2011. Rumors are swirling of a suspicious package or a bomb threat, as they generally do in these situations. We'll update with more concrete details whenever they're available.
UPDATE: A member of the AX staff told LA Weekly's Liz Ohanesian he can't go into detail, but it's a “safety issue.” They just had to get everybody out. West Hall at the Convention Center is still open.
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
SECOND UPDATE: “I don't know what's going on,” says Cosplay in America's Ejen Chuang. There's still a lot of people inside the exhibit hall, he says, a little less than would be expected on a Saturday, but there definitely are still people inside South Hall. “It's kind of normal in here actually.”
THIRD UPDATE: The bomb squad is on the scene.
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Credit: Shannon Cottrell
FOURTH UPDATE (12:34 p.m.) : The police are letting people back into the exhibit hall, just not the food court yet.
FIFTH UPDATE (12:51 p.m.): The South Hall is now back open.
SIXTH UPDATE: (1:04 p.m.): A police officer tells Ohanesian the suspicious package was a bag of clothes and unidentifiable liquid. Someone apparently came back to pick it up.
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