Suspicious package tossed into day care play area; Northside Drive blocked by bomb squad

Northside Drive is closed between Forest Hill Road and Tom Hill Sr. Blvd. as the Bibb sheriff’s bomb squad investigates a suspicious package.

At about 9:20 a.m., the sheriff’s office received a call about a cardboard box being tossed over the fence at the Child Care Network day care center, Lt. Randy Gonzalez said.

A man was seen pulling a black vehicle off Northside Drive between the day care center and American LubeFast and running toward the .

“A white male got out and threw a cardboard box over the fence and into the play yard,” Gonzalez said.

The man got back in the car and made a U-turn on Northside and drove off toward Forest Hill.

Deputies evacuated the center, shut down the road and called in the bomb squad, Gonzalez said.

The children were loaded onto two school buses that are parked down the street.

Worried parents can pickup the children at the apartments at 3902 Ashley Woods Park, on Ashley Woods Drive, on the Tom Hill side of the day care off Northside.

No bomb threats were initially reported, but authorities are taking precautions to ensure the safety of those in the area.

Sheriff David Davis is on the scene and reportedly was near the package, which could mean the area is safe.

Come back to macon.com for updates and read Thursday’s Telegraph.

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Suspicious package tossed into day care play area; Northside Drive blocked by bomb squad."