WATCH: Police are looking for suspects after two bomb scares in downtown Victoria Tuesday.
Police are looking for suspects after two bomb scares in downtown Victoria Tuesday afternoon and night.
The first occurred around 3:45 p.m. when an employee at the courthouse received a bomb threat over the phone.
Police say it was a male voice that said a bomb at the courthouse would explode in 20 minutes.
“I overheard one of my coworkers saying ’20 minutes, 20 minutes,’ and I didn’t really know what that meant, and then I saw a sheriff and I figured that he just got a call saying that someone was angry and was going to come in, that he was only warning the sheriffs that he could come in and be troublesome,” Edney, who works at the courthouse, said.
“So I didn’t really pay much attention to it afterwards, and then when he came into my area he said, ‘There’s been a bomb threat. You need to evacuate.'”
Sheriffs quickly got everyone out while police blocked off the area and two canine units searched for a bomb.
Police found no threat.
“This type of incident creates a significant disruption anytime it’s in a public place of a higher profile, such as the courthouse,” said Victoria Police Acting Staff Sgt. Mike Darling. “Obviously, [it was a] tremendous disruption to anything that was going on here today, and also to the general public that’s trying to get home at the end of the day.”
Just hours later, around 10 p.m., police were called to Victoria City Hall with reports of a suspicious package.
Explosives disposal experts determined it was not a bomb.
Police are now looking for suspects in both incidents.
The person responsible for the bomb threat at the Victoria courthouse could face mischief charges if caught.
Calvin To
