'Junk' car sets off bomb scare

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A man living in Los Angeles said his beat-up car, which he left parked at a Boston airport's economy lot, was at the center of a bomb scare.

Lawrence "Alex" Reed, 24, said police may have been suspicious of his 2004 Grand Marquis at Logan International Airport early Monday due to a broken window, a wire running into the vehicle to power the cigarette lighter, Oklahoma license plates, damage to the rear from a collision with a semi truck and other less-than-mint-condition features, the Boston Herald reported Tuesday.

"The condition of the car and of the items attached to it raised numerous red flags and we consider the investigation ongoing," Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said.

Reed, who parked the car in the lot Aug. 6, said it was also lacking a ticket because the machine was broken.

"My car is a piece of junk," Reed said.

Police bomb squads used a pair of robots to search the vehicle and blasted open the trunk with a water cannon. Several streets and a nearby elderly housing complex were evacuated during the search.

"I'm just a random college student who left his car at the economy lot," Reed said. "I don't want to end up on a terrorist watch list."