What started as a suspicious package call at San Diego State University ended with a 34-year-old student in jail on Monday, after police say he tied a bag to the front door of the Melvin Garb Hillel Center and violated a workplace violence restraining order in the process.
Bomb technicians were called in to check the bag and later determined it did not contain an explosive or arson device. The student was taken into custody and booked into San Diego Central Jail. Police said he also faces a separate battery allegation in an unrelated case.
Police: Bag left and cleared by bomb technicians
San Diego police said security-camera footage captured the man on the Hillel property around 7:50 a.m. Monday, placing a bag at the entrance and securing it to the door with a string, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Officers called in bomb technicians, who examined the package and determined it did not contain an explosive or an arson device.
Police told the paper the arrest was made on suspicion of violating a workplace violence restraining order. The man was later booked into San Diego Central Jail on that allegation, as well as a separate battery allegation tied to a different case.
Hillel center, a campus hub, responds
The Melvin Garb Hillel Center is run by Hillel of San Diego and serves as a campus hub for Jewish students, providing programs and support on and near the SDSU campus. Local Jewish leaders and campus groups frequently lean on the center for emergency outreach and community support when incidents raise concerns about student safety.
Investigation and legal context
Authorities declined to release details about the battery case that led to the restraining order, saying those records were not available yesterday, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports…