A concerning incident unfolded at the Arizona Supreme Court on Monday when a package, later found to contain explosive materials, was discovered in the building’s mail room. This discovery led to the immediate evacuation of several government facilities, as confirmed by local authorities.
The alarming find, reported at approximately 8 a.m., involved a package with multiple vials, two of which were identified as containing an “unspecified homemade explosive substance,” according to a statement from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS).
As a precautionary measure, the State Courts building, along with the Education Department, Attorney General’s Office, and Department of Administration, were all evacuated. Fortunately, the Supreme Court was not in session at the time the package was found.
In response to the potential threat, the courthouse was closed while thorough security sweeps were conducted. Authorities worked throughout the day to safely remove the package from the downtown Phoenix location for further analysis and disposal.
The operation to neutralize the threat involved a specialist technician, who, equipped with protective gear, carefully transferred the explosive device into a sphere-shaped containment unit. The package was then transported under police escort to a secure area where it could be safely detonated, as reported by AZ Family.
A trained technician clad in protective gear carried the explosive device out of the Arizona Supreme Court and placed it inside a sphere-shaped containment unit. It was later escorted to a safe location by a police motorcade to be detonated, according to AZ Family.
The building was cleared for reentry by 3:30 p.m., and employees will return to work in the building on Tuesday, the outlet reported
“When they notified all staff that we needed to evacuate, I think there was a lot of questions that we didn’t necessarily know about, speaking as a general employee of the Supreme Court. We’re just following directions,” Alberto Rodriguez, a communications director with the Arizona Supreme Court, recalled to the outlet.
“I don’t want to speak on behalf of any of my colleagues, but personally, it’s just one of those things where it doesn’t feel good when it gets to your workplace. You hear about it all the time, but it’s unfortunate that it reached the Arizona Supreme Court, where we had to have this evacuation,” Rodriguez said.
Little information about the package, including where it originated from or whether it was capable of detonating, has been released by authorities.
No injuries were reported.
With Post wires
