Two explosive devices were discovered hidden at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday and Monday, prompting partial evacuations, police said Monday.
The devices were deactivated and removed from the premises, the Seminole Police Department said in a statement.
The first “crude hidden device with fireworks components” was found in a men’s room next to the casino just before midnight on Sunday night. The device was “quickly defused with the cooperation and support of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Disposal Team,” police said. “Part of the casino was immediately evacuated and then reopened at 3am, after the device was deactivated and removed.”
During the investigation prompted by the first unit, a second hidden explosive device was discovered in a men’s room shortly after noon Monday in the mezzanine area of the casino, the Seminole Police Department said. The mezzanine area was evacuated and the second device was deactivated and removed with assistance from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Bomb Disposal Team.
The Seminole Police Department said it was working with the FBI and reviewing surveillance video as part of the ongoing investigation.
All areas of the casino have reopened, police said Monday.