Woman in gas mask scares the hell out of Duluth post office

Photo by Richard Riley, Flickr.

"You guys do overnight delivery?"

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Just after 10 a.m. Monday, a woman walked into a Duluth post office sporting a vintage military-style gas mask, carrying with her a package and duffel bag.

This was a suspicious enough getup for at least one concerned citizen to call the police.

Duluth police showed up and promptly arrested the woman. After taking her into custody, police feared the post office might have been contaminated with "some sort of chemical," says Jim Hansen, public information officer for Duluth police.

Police locked down the post office and brought in the fire department's haz-mat unit to investigate. They also called in a state explosive disposal team.

Ultimately, it ended up being a false alarm, says Hansen.

"Nothing came of it basically," he says. "There was nothing suspicious found."

Still, police transferred the woman to jail on suspicion of disorderly conduct and concealing identity. Hansen says he expects the woman, whose name has not been released, to be formally charged today or tomorrow.