Parkinson’s device causes bomb scare in restaurant

Businesses and stores in a busy shopping area had to be evacuated after the discovery of a suspected bomb – which turned out to be a medical device left in a restaurant by a Parkinson’s patient.

Bertucci’s restaurant and other units in the plaza at Beverly, Boston, were closed for several hours on Monday amid fears the device could be explosive, police said.

The area was declared safe, however, after authorities confirmed that the suspect package was in fact “a homemade medical device used for electrical stimulation by a Parkinson’s patient to help with joint pain”, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

State fire marshal Peter J Ostroskey said investigators had spoken to the patient and the patient’s doctor to confirm the purpose of the device.

“The patient called the restaurant last night looking to retrieve the device accidentally left behind. Investigators have been able to corroborate his explanation with his physician,” Ostroskey told the newspaper.