SCARE CAUSES EVACUATIONS SUSPICIOUS BRIEFCASE SEEN, 2 DOWNTOWN FEDERAL BUILDINGS CLEARED.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

More than 5,000 people were evacuated from two downtown federal buildings for two hours Wednesday morning because of a suspicious briefcase that turned out to be harmless.

Traffic backed up downtown as police shut down two city blocks and freeway exits around the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. starting shortly after the briefcase was discovered at 8:20 a.m.

About 5,000 employees, plus hundreds of people with government business, were evacuated and spent more than two hours milling around on nearby streets before police declared the area safe around 10:30 a.m.

The incident began when a security guard noticed the briefcase, by itself in a room on the first floor of the building, around 8:20 a.m., according to Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Officer LaDonna Cissell.

Building officials notified the police, who evacuated the building and closed off the streets while waiting for the bomb squad. The squad later X-rayed the briefcase and determined it held batteries, but no explosive device. It was removed from the building and detonated at a remote location as a standard precaution.

For some, the wait meant the already frustrating experience of dealing with federal agencies like the Immigration and Naturalization Service became even worse.

Karen Hintz, originally from Britain, and her husband, Bryan, showed up at 8 a.m. for an 8:45 appointment for her to interview for a green card. The Chino Hills couple was almost at the appointment when the building was evacuated.

When it ended, they had to stand behind hundreds of people in a line that barely inched along because everyone entering the building had to pass a metal detector and bag scanner as part of the building's everyday security procedure.

``Now it's probably going to take an hour just to get back in the building,'' said Bryan Hintz.