The Levittown post office and surrounding stores were evacuated due to a bomb scare Monday after someone mistakenly left behind a briefcase, Nassau police said.

The bomb squad and other police rushed to the Gardiners Avenue facility just after 4 p.m., but the briefcase's owner eventually returned for it, police said.

The postmaster and staff had called police and the postal inspection service after they noticed a large suitcase in the lobby, said Maureen Marion, a United States Postal Service spokeswoman.

"It was a smart call by the postmaster because it's an atypical thing to be left behind," Marion said.

Marion said she did not have details on how many employees or customers were in the building at the time.

Three Newsday photographers talk to NewsdayTV's Macy Egeland about covering the tragic crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

'I've never seen fire sitting on the water' Three Newsday photographers talk to NewsdayTV's Macy Egeland about covering the tragic crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

Three Newsday photographers talk to NewsdayTV's Macy Egeland about covering the tragic crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

'I've never seen fire sitting on the water' Three Newsday photographers talk to NewsdayTV's Macy Egeland about covering the tragic crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

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