City Hall, River Park Square back open

Stores and streets are back open after a suspicious package found outside the Rock City Grill in downtown Spokane caused the evacuation of River Park Square and City Hall for several hours. The item was determined to be an empty lunch box, said Spokane police Officer Ben Green. “We’re just treating it as a false alarm,” he said. The box outside the downtown mall was called in to police at 11:30 a.m., and nearby buildings and businesses were evacuated as a precaution, Green said. Spokane Falls Boulevard was shut down where it runs behind River Park Square. A robot was brought in to check out the box and determined there was no threat.