Oakland letter carrier finds suspicious item in collection box

Signage for the United States Post Office (USPS) (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

A suspicious item was found in a United States Postal Service collection box Saturday afternoon in Oakland, a Postal Service inspector said today. 

At about 3 p.m. a letter carrier spotted the item in a big blue collection box at Stanford and San Pablo avenues, inspector Jeff Fitch said. 

A bomb squad from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office responded and said the item indeed was suspicious and rendered it safe. 

Evidence from the investigation was sent to the Postal Service's crime lab near Washington, D.C. 

Fitch said postal service officials are still trying to determine what the item is.