Fake leg mistaken for rifle

BELLINGHAM, Wash., May 25 (UPI) -- Police in Bellingham, Wash., were called into action when a prosthetic leg being carried by a man to a medical office was mistaken for an assault rifle.

A woman called 911 Thursday to report seeing a man enter the Chestnut Professional Building with what appeared to be an assault rifle, leading to a major police action that included several blocks being barricaded, the Bellingham Herald reported Friday.

The building was evacuated and the woman who phoned the police was called in when no suspect was found. She identified the office worker she had seen carrying the object into the building and the object was revealed to be a prosthetic leg, the newspaper said.

"Everyone did everything right ... they allowed us to do our job," deputy chief David Doll of the Bellingham Police Department told the Herald. "Like we hoped, it turned out to be a good situation today."