A bomb threat vacated the Athens County Court of Common Pleas this afternoon and shut down most of Court Street for more than four hours.
At about 10:15 a.m., a male with an adult voice in the Athens County area called 911 from a cell phone and threatened the detonation of multiple explosives shortly after noon, said David Malawista, chief deputy for the Athens County Sheriff's Office.
After evacuations had begun, the man called back about 15 minutes later, stated that his instructions were not being carried out fast enough and then hung up, Malawista said, adding that he was unsure what the instructions were.
A few hours after a general sweep of the courthouse by a dozen officers yielded no explosives, four bomb-sniffing dogs from Ohio State Highway Patrol and Columbus Police Department arrived to search the building, he said.
No explosive devices were found, according to an Athens County Emergency Communications news release.
It's very likely this was a hoax
Malawista said.
No injuries were reported, and neither the identity of the caller nor his motive is yet clear.
Basically it's a disruption; they usually want to disrupt the flow of routine or normal function around here said Athens Police officer Richard Crossen.
Evacuations also occurred in homes and businesses on Court Street from Union to Washington streets, and one block in either direction as well, according to an e-mail from University Communications and Marketing.
The area around Court Street was reopened to traffic and pedestrians around 3:30 p.m.
The man could be charged with several felonies, Malawista said, including calling in a fake bomb threat and stopping public service.
Officers had checked court dockets after the call to potentially link the threat to an event scheduled today at the courthouse, he said.
It had been about seven years since the last bomb threat was called in to Athens city, said APD Captain Tom Pyle.
Do they want to make a political statement
or maybe just try to stop something? You never know this early
Crossen said.
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Bomb sniffing dogs and their handlers, from Columbus, enter the Athens County Board of Elections offices to check for explosive devices earlier today in response to a bomb threat. No explosive devices were found after a thorough inspection of both the cou
