For the second time in three days, a Wyoming courthouse was evacuated and shut down Thursday when the Casper Hall of Justice was cleared after a suspicious package was delivered to the building.
It remained closed until about 2 p.m., when the building had been cleared and multiple local responding agencies packed up.
The incident comes just two days after a hazardous materials threat prompted an evacuation of the Campbell County Courthouse in Gillette, which didn’t open again until Wednesday morning. The substance that sent the Gillette facility into lockdown ultimately tested negative for a contagious hazardous material.
Whether the Casper and Gillette courthouse incidents could be related wasn’t known at the time this story was published and requests for more information hadn’t been responded to.
In Casper
The suspicious package at the Casper Hall of Justice on Thursday also had North David Street blocked off at the West First Street intersection, said Casper Police Department spokesperson Amber Freestone.
The evacuation was done to ensure safety as the package and any potential threat it may or may not have posed was investigated.
“It’s just out of abundance of caution that they locked down the building,” Freestone said. “Travel is being affected just on that one block.”
The incident began shortly before noon and vehicles from the region’s Special Response Team that deals with hazardous material could be seen onsite putting on protective gear and entering the building. The buildings remained secured at 1 p.m., and an hour later the center was cleared to reopen.
The building houses the Casper Police Department, Natrona County Sheriff’s Office and Natrona County District Attorney’s offices.
The sheriff’s office reported on Facebook that its administrative offices would be closed for the remainder of the day.
Contact Dale Killingbeck at dale@cowboystatedaily.com
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
