SF police station evacuated when possible explosives turned in

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A shelter-in-place order was issued Tuesday after a person tried to turn in possible explosives at the Tenderloin Police Station at Eddy and Jones streets in San Francisco, officials said.

“At 12:15 p.m. a citizen found and brought to the Tenderloin station possible explosive devices,” said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department.

She added that the person was trying to turn in the materials, and that there had been some evacuations in the area, while others were asked to shelter in place. The Tenderloin Police Station was also evacuated.

A bomb squad was sent to the station to secure the possible explosives, she said.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management issued a shelter-in-place order for the area around Eddy and Leavenworth streets just after 12:30 p.m. on Twitter, and the all-clear was given about 1:23 p.m.

An alert was issued at 1:13 p.m. saying the two-block area bounded by Leavenworth Street to the west, Taylor on the east, Turk to the south and Eddy to the north is closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Inbound 31 Balboa buses were rerouted because of the police activity but resumed normal service when the alert was lifted, although residual delays may occur throughout the area, according to Muni.

Anyone trying to safely dispose of potentially explosive materials should not travel anywhere with them, Talkoff said.

“First, we recommend calling 911 to let us know that they have that, and what will end up usually happening is our officers would go out or our EOD [Explosive Ordinance Disposal] unit would respond out and render it safe,” she said.

“Try not to transport it anywhere,” she added. “Usually, it’s best to leave it where it’s at — that way we can come out and take a look.”

Filipa Ioannou and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com and sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi and @SarRavani