Toy grenade spurs evacuation near WTC

A gag grenade with "Complaint department: Take a number" attached to the pin led to the evacuation Thursday of an office building near Ground Zero, and the employee responsible for it was put on administrative leave.

The police bomb squad was called to 2 World Financial Center in lower Manhattan at midday when a security guard reported a mail-order package that seemed suspicious. Brookfield Properties, which runs the property, ordered an evacuation as a precaution.

The building is near the World Trade Center site and was damaged on Sept. 11, 2001.

Several employees said an announcement came over building loudspeakers telling them to evacuate as quickly as possible. Octavio Diaz was wearing a neon yellow backpack as he helped lead his co-workers out of the building to a volleyball court, where they waited until the all-clear.

"Stuff like this happens, so you've got to take it seriously," he said. "We're ready to go."

Employees filed calmly back into the building after the NYPD declared the all-clear about 90 minutes later.

The evacuated building houses major financial institutions, including Merrill Lynch, Nomura Securities, Deloitte, Commerzbank and OppenheimerFunds Inc.

The package was discovered by someone in a mail room.

A Nomura Securities spokesman said one of the company's employees was responsible for bringing the toy into the building and was being placed on leave pending a review.

Police said there was no threat, and no criminal investigation is taking place.