State capitol hit by sixth bomb threat in just five weeks
Oct 18, 2018, 4:42 PM | Updated: Oct 19, 2018, 6:54 am
An aerial photo of one of the five bomb threats called into the state Capitol over the last month plus. The latest threat hit Tumwater. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Olympia has been inundated with bomb threats over the last month, with the latest hitting the buildings for the Department of Highway Licensing and Department of Natural Resources Thursday morning.
RELATED: State Patrol clears building at capitol after bomb threat
The State Patrol evacuated and locked down both buildings after a threat was called in at 11:30 a.m. Eight K-9 units and the bomb squad went over the exterior to investigate. After a thorough search, no suspicious item was found.
A suspicious envelope also shut down the Temple of Justice earlier Thursday morning, but was determined not to be a threat either.
Back in late-September, a similar threat to the Highway Licensing building was called in. Since then, threats have been called in every Wednesday, most recently on Oct. 16 to the state Attorney General’s office. For anyone counting, that makes six total threats in just five weeks.
“It’s very frustrating,” State Patrol Communications Director John Shaffer told KIRO Radio.
The people who field these calls are trained in how to gather and report the information they’re given, but even with that, it’s tough to determine where those calls originate.
“It is very difficult — a lot of the time these are anonymous,” said Shaffer. “We’re only as good as the information that the person who takes the call gathers.”
Little is known currently about the identity of the person or people behind these calls.
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