Firebomb defused at MLK Way bank, streets reopened |

SEATTLE - Streets have reopened and light rail service has resumed near Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South Othello Street after police defused an incendiary device at a bank near there.

The device was spotted Friday at about 6:35 a.m. by a customer at a Chase Bank branch in the 7100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.

The customer, Ericson Gonzales, told KOMO News that he and his wife went to use a cash machine at the bank and spotted a box with two bottles taped together with wires in the foyer of the bank, under an ATM.

Gonzales said the device looked dangerous.

"I (was) scared for my wife's safety," he said.

Gonzales said he flagged down police, who went to the scene and immediately closed streets and shut down light rail service in the area. People were evacuated and police tape was placed around the area.

A bomb squad determined that the device appeared to be intended to set a fire at the bank, but it failed to ignite. Officers defused the device and rendered it harmless, said Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb.

Traffic was re-routed around the area and the Othello light rail station was closed for about 2 1/2 hours while the bomb squad investigated. Streets were reopened and light rail service resumed at about 9 a.m., after the bomb was defused.

Seattle police spokeswoman Rene Witt says no one has claimed responsibility for the attempted arson.

Whitcomb says the investigation into the incident is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to the Seattle police Arson Bomb Squad Office at (206) 684-8980.