The Ames Police Department responded to a phone call from the Ames post office about a “suspicious package” around 3 p.m. Monday, April 22, 2013.

Cmdr. Geoff Huff said post office officials called the police after noticing a small, unattended carry-on bag in the building. Huff said in light of recent events, post office workers evacuated the post office and called police.

“Luckily, we had the bomb squad from the state fire marshall’s office not too far away,” Huff said. “They determined there was nothing suspicious inside. They opened the bag, it was mostly empty; had some paperwork inside.”

The next step will be to locate the owner of the bag and find out why the bag was left unattended.

Huff said thinking back two weeks ago, police would not have gone through the same, thorough protocol. But despite the recent events, Huff said he believed the post office workers took the right precautions.