The Bloomington Police Department has determined that the fake bomb found in a Bradford Place apartment closet Wednesday was, in fact, part of a Halloween costume forgotten by a former resident.

BPD Lt. David Drake said police have made contact with the resident, 21, who told police he left the item behind when he moved out.

The man provided detectives with a picture of himself and the item at a costume party,
Drake stated in a press release.

Police will not be releasing the photograph, Drake said.

The man told police he had no intention of intimidating anyone with the item and, according to the release, no criminal charges are being sought.

The scare began around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, when members of the maintenance staff at Bradford Place on South Park Ridge Road off of East Third Street, discovered the item, which was made of several pieces of red PVC pipe wrapped together, with wires leading to an alarm clock.

The residents of the building were evacuated, and the BPD, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Bloomington Fire Department and the IU Police Department arrived on the scene.

After police and fire officials assessed the situation, the Emergency Ordinance Disposal Unit of the Crane Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center was called in, BPD Sgt. Steve Kellams  said.

The EDO investigated the item, sending in both a member of the disposal team and a robot, Kellams said. Finally, officials said the item was determined not to be a real bomb, but a convincing fake.

“It really did look like a bomb,” Drake said Thursday.