Indio apartment complex given all clear after bomb threat

An Indio apartment complex was evacuated due to a possible bomb threat at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning, but by 3:10 p.m., the Indio Police Department cleared the building of any hazard.

“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Hazardous Device Team has checked the apartment unit that had the suspicious device and determined it was not a bomb nor a hazard of any kind at the Watercrest at The Polo Field Apartments, 46-745 Monroe Street, and we are currently notifying the evacuated tenants that it’s safe to return to their apartment,” Indio Police Department public information officer Ben Guitron wrote in an email to News Channel 3.

The evacuation was enacted after suspicious wires were found attached to the door of the former apartment of a man who was recently evicted.

The former tenant, who has not been identified, has reportedly run into issues with local law enforcement in the past. On June 9, IPD responded to the complex at 5:37 p.m. for a report of a mentally-disturbed person making threats. The man told police that he left a bomb in the apartment, the Hazardous Device Team responded, and the package was determined to not be a bomb. The man was not arrested or detained on the 9th.

The city of Indio had opened the Senior Center to aid tenants who have been affected by the evacuation. The nearby Moose Lodge had also opened its doors.

The apartments are located off Monroe Street south of Highway 111.