Bomb threat leads to hourslong shutdown of EB 118 Freeway after police chase ends in Porter Ranch

PORTER RANCH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The 118 Freeway was reopened in the Porter Ranch area early Saturday morning after a police chase ended with a bomb threat and an hourslong investigation of a suspicious vehicle.

Eastbound lanes were closed to traffic near Reseda Boulevard around 9 p.m. and many drivers exited the freeway via an onramp amid the massive backup.

The CHP said the incident started around 8:45 p.m. when a person called authorities to claim police were following them.

At one point the person claimed there was a bomb inside the van. The person was taken into custody but officers closed the freeway to traffic so that the vehicle could be investigated.

Footage from AIR7HD showed the van with its doors open and officers taking position on the freeway several hundred feet away.

The Los Angeles School Police Department was the agency initially chasing the suspect. The agency said a bomb squad was at the scene after the pursuit ended.

All lanes were reopened after no explosives were found.