Cedar Rapids Fire and Police investigated a potential bomb threat outside the Cedar Rapids Day School on 1st Avenue East at 6th Street SE. Someone called police after finding a package on a bench outside the day care.

Police said it was more of package than a mechanical device. They will only say it was not a threat and won't say what was inside.

The day care was put on lockdown and the kids were moved the basement while police investigated the package.

The man who said he called police described it as three tubes, one of which had a blade sticking out of it.

"Upon closer observation I bent down and I seen a glass piece and then one of the pieces had blade sticking out of it with a tennis ball at the end of it and that's when I realized 'hey this doesn't look right' so I ran up the street, I called 9-1-1 and I waited for the officer to arrive," Norvell Currie said.

He said he called police because it is better to be safe than sorry.

"See something, say something, you know, especially right there in front of the school. It wouldn't matter where it was, it could be anywhere, if I see something suspicious, I'm going to call it in," Currie said.

Cedar Rapids police said they are glad he called it in.

"We definitely want people to call anytime they see something that looks out of place or something that looks suspicious to them. It's better to be safe, to make sure the public is safe. We have trained individuals that can come out and look at things," Sgt. J.D. Verschoore said.

Police said they will continue to investigate what that package was and how it ended up on the bench.

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Police are investigating a suspicious package outside the Cedar Rapids Day School -- 1st Avenue East is blocked off from 4th Ave to 7th Ave.

The robot is out from the Cedar Rapids bomb squad and the K-9 unit has been brought to the scene.

Cedar Rapids Day School is on lockdown with kids still inside.