(Updated at 10:46 a.m.): The suspicious package was benign, an official with the SMPD tells Santa Monica Patch.

"It was not an explosive device," the official said.

The streets and businesses near Third St. and Wilshire Blvd. have been reopened.

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The Santa Monica Police Department evacuated the area near Third St. and Wilshire Blvd. on Friday morning after a suspicious package was reported, an official with the SMPD has confirmed to Santa Monica Patch. Several streets have been closed as well.

The suspicious package was located in a dumpster in the alley north of Wilshire Blvd., east of the promenade.

The Los Angeles Bomb Squad has also responded to the incident.