Package prompts evacuation at Grant County Courthouse
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 11 months AGO
A Grant County Sheriff’s deputy waits outside the Grant County Courthouse Friday afternoon while members of the Washington State Patrol bomb squad evaluate a suspicious package left inside. The package forced evacuation of the courthouse.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | May 6, 2022 3:59 PM
EPHRATA — A suspicious package that was eventually determined to be a gift for someone forced the evacuation of the Grant County Courthouse Friday morning.
Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a press release that the package was considered to be suspicious when it was found.
No one was injured in the incident.
The package was discovered inside a building at the courthouse campus, but was not in the Law and Justice Center, which houses the Grant County Jail, Foreman wrote. The courthouse was evacuated before noon, and the streets around the courthouse were blocked off while the package was evaluated. County official contacted the Washington State Patrol bomb squad, who exmined the pckage and found it to be harmless.
Courthouse staff were allowed to reenter the building about 2:15 p.m., but the courthouse complex remained closed to the public for the rest of the day.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated throughout.
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