Suspicious device reported in Moscow; Spokane bomb squad deployed for third time in a week

A Spokane bomb squad was dispatched to Moscow on Tuesday after a suspicious device was found near a hospital and a Baptist church.

Experts determined the device was not an explosive, according to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. But it was the third time in the span of a week that the Spokane Explosive Disposal Unit was dispatched to the Palouse.

On May 1, an improvised explosive was discovered in a mobile home in Moscow; the bomb squad determined the device was active and disabled it.

And on Sunday morning, another device resembling a pipe bomb was found in a city park in Pullman; police said there was evidence of attempts to light the fuse.

The Moscow Police Department said officers and fire department personnel were called to the 800 block of South Jefferson Street shortly after noon Tuesday.

The White Pine Baptist Church occupies that block, and Gritman Medical Center is about one block to the east.

FBI agents based in Lewiston also responded to the scene.

Also in Pullman, police are working to identify an arsonist who set fire to a laser tag arena early Sunday. It’s unclear if that incident is related to the improvised explosives.