10:55 AM CST on Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Police roped off Dealey Plaza on Wednesday morning after a passer-by found a plywood rat maze scrawled with prophetic messages and attached to a kitchen timer, police said. Concerned it was a bomb, police examined the device and determined it was not explosive. The 4-foot-square maze, which contained a live mouse or rat in an exercise ball, was found about 7:20 a.m. in front of the G.B. Dealey statue, at the center of the plaza where President Kennedy was shot in 1963, Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Max Geron said. Written on the maze were messages such as, “There’s never enough time,” and “Open your eyes before it’s too late,” he said. “What caused officers concern was there was some sort of kitchen timer attached to a circuit board,” Cpl. Geron said. Main Street from the viaduct to the Old Red Courthouse was shut down along with Houston Street between Elm and Commerce streets. The streets were reopened about 9:30 a.m. The site of the Kennedy assassination long has been a draw for protesters and conspiracy theorists. Almost two years ago, on Dec. 12, 2003, a man killed himself on the “X” that purportedly marks the exact spot where Kennedy was shot.