WATERBORO — A suspicious device on the shoulder of a roadway in Waterboro was safely contained and neutralized by law enforcement, firefighters and the Maine State Police bomb squad on Monday night. 

York County Sheriff William L. King Jr. said sheriff’s deputies responded to a suspicious device call in the 800 block of Main Street in Waterboro at about 7:30 p.m. Monday.

“A passerby observed a needle and a bottle wrapped in duct tape and feared it may be some sort of harmful homemade device,” King said.

The suspicious item was found laying along the shoulder of the Main Street roadway.

“Deputies arrived and were unable to distinguish what was in the wrapped bottle,” King said. “Taking reasonable precaution, they contacted the Maine State Police bomb squad.”

Members of the bomb squad safely detonated the item and found that the bottle contained used syringes and caps.

Firefighters from the Waterboro Fire Department also were on hand to assist with the hazardous clean up and all items were properly disposed of, King said.  

Anybody with information about how the duct-taped wrapped bottle came to be placed on the roadway is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 324-1113.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at [email protected].