Thursday afternoon in Kissimmee turned tense and slow-moving after police shut down key stretches of North John Young Parkway to check out a suspicious package near Columbia Avenue. Northbound lanes at Columbia and southbound lanes at Donegan Avenue were closed while officers dealt with the item, sending traffic onto side routes and causing delays across nearby streets.
Bomb squad rolls in
According to WFTV, the Kissimmee Police Department called in the Orlando Bomb Squad to help with the investigation. Officers shut down the northbound North John Young Parkway at Columbia Avenue and the southbound lanes at Donegan Avenue while the team examined the package. Police rerouted traffic around the scene as bomb technicians worked.
Not the first scare here
Kissimmee has seen unnerving calls like this before. In 2020, a suspicious package at City Hall turned out to be a box filled with dead rodents, according to FOX 35 Orlando. Even when the item is harmless, these investigations typically trigger multi-agency responses and road closures until officials give the all-clear.
Traffic and what to watch
Drivers should plan for delays in the area and stick to detours marked by officers, the Kissimmee Police Department told WFTV. Local news outlets and traffic apps are expected to update conditions as the scene clears, so checking official feeds before heading through central Kissimmee could save some time and frustration.
