Ed Fuentes

LAPD cruisers block off 5th street at Grand.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A suspicious shopping cart near U.S. Bank tower led to street closures just before noon, but turned out to be a false alarm.

Rosie Carrillo, a Coffee Bean barista, says it was frightening to be evacuated along with other lunch retail shops on 5th street. She saw the suspicious package, made of a shopping cart with a photo of Obama, a soldier and a cross. "It was neatly stacked next to the bus stop," she said.

blogdowntown followed the incident on twitter, pulling together our own information and reports from readers.

11:03am: Text from Danyul: Report from the field. 5th and grand blocked off by police

11:15am: We send out a tweet: Tip that LAPD has the intersection of 5th and Grand closed off. Anyone know what's up?

11:25am: RT @jfrog: @blogdowntown a suspicious package outside us bank tower (where I work)

11:25am: RT @lainegrace:Suspicious pkg w/ Obama pic / Bible attached, liquids.

11:28am: We update with info from LAPD Central Division Captain Blake Chow: LAPD says the package is a shopping cart, and that bomb squad is enroute.

11:38am: RT @lainegrace: False alarm! It's apparently over, everything reopened. To quote a coworker, "The homeless guy came to pick up his stuff?"

11:40am: We update from the scene: 5th street is the last to clear up. Closed at Hill. Most everything else is reopened.

To stay on top of incidents like this as they happen, follow blogdowntown on twitter.