A suspicious backpack brought the Southeast Missouri regional bomb squad to Southeast River Campus on Thursday around 2 p.m.

A pedestrian noticed a backpack with wires hanging out of it at the Band Annex on Morgan Oak Street, and reported it to the Cape Girardeau Police Department (CGPD) around 1 p.m. After investigation, the bomb squad reported the backpack all clear.

The Department of Public Safety and CGPD shut down Morgan Oak Street while the bomb squad conducted an investigation.

The backpack contained vintage camera equipment, video games and other electronic accessories wrapped in what Sergeant Joey Hahn from the CGPD described as a suspicious manner.

Southeast Missouri Regional bomb squad was on scene at Southeast's River Campus Thursday afternoon to investigate a suspicious backpack outside of the Band Annex. The backpack was all clear.Photo by Kara Hartnett

“I don’t think it was intentionally fabricated to make it look like a specific package,” Hahn said.

Sikeston Chief of Police Mike Williams was on scene with the bomb squad and said the backpack was first scanned with an x-ray to determine whether the contents were safe to pursue, then the backpack was emptied by an officer in an explosive ordinance disposal suit.

Miller said the last time the bomb squad investigated a suspicious package near Southeast campus was during the 2016 election. It was also found to be safe.