Metro

Bomb squad alerted to package near WTC

The NYPD bomb squad was called lower Manhattan Wednesday after a suspicious suitcase left near Ground Zero sparked the evacuation of two area schools, authorities said.

The black piece of wheeled luggage was found behind Trinity Church just before 9:30 a.m. on the corner of Trinity Place and Thames Street, cops said.

Trinity Church Preschool and the High School of Economics and Finance were evacuated while the bomb squad responded, took x-rays, and performed radiation tests, cops said.

An hour later, the suitcase was determined to be harmless and the scene was cleared, police said.

Children from the Trinity preschool being moved outside of a two block perimeter in response to a suspicious package near Ground Zero.William Farrington