WASHINGTON – A coconut lying next to a column near the Frederick County courthouse caused police and fire personnel to evacuate the outside area and one inside office for about 20 minutes Wednesday.

A courthouse deputy on his morning perimeter check spotted the coconut about 7:55 a.m. It looked like it had been sliced down the center and put back together, according to a Frederick County Sheriff’s Office press release.

The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s bomb squad was called in to assist members of the sheriff’s office, the Frederick Police Department and the Frederick County Fire and Rescue Services in determining whether the tropical fruit was a danger to the public, the release stated.

Members of the bomb squad determined the coconut was not dangerous.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Matt Wrenn is handling the investigation.

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