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OAKLAND — An Alameda County bomb squad cleared the scene and ruled the county’s main courthouse safe Wednesday afternoon, after deputies found a suspicious device inside a backpack in a vent.
A statement from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office on its Twitter feed said the all-clear was given at 12:33 p.m. for access to the Rene C. Davidson Court House on Fallon Street, a little more than two hours after deputies discovered the backpack.
Authorities detained a man whom they say is tied to the backpack, and said it appeared to have wires and possible circuit boards inside but wasn’t an explosive device. The man has a history of similar incidents and vandalism incidents, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said.
The bomb squad has given the all clear. Courthouse will return to normal operations. One suspect detained related to back pack. He assaulted deputies. https://t.co/YYG6imPnvS
— Alameda County Sheriff (@ACSOSheriffs) December 13, 2017
Authorities planned to take him to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation and then arrest him, Kelly said. His name wasn’t released.
“Deputies ended up having a struggle with him,” Kelly said. “They took him to the ground, and he was detained.”
Deputies making a perimeter check found the device around 10:30 a.m. on the 12th Street side of the building, where people are screened for weapons, Kelly said. The streets outside the courthouse were shut down while the bomb squad was on the scene, but authorities did not evacuate the courthouse.
Earlier in the day, about 4 a.m., someone threw an incendiary device against the same side of the building, which sparked a small fire but very little damage, authorities said.
A similar device was ignited at the courthouse a week ago, but again did little damage, Kelly said.
“Based on those two previous events, and this gentleman leaving and acting bizarre within the courthouse, we were concerned,” Kelly said.
A suspicious object at the Alameda County courthouse has forced Oakland police to shut down some roads near 12th and Oak streets; an investigation is ongoing. WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/Pi1O4hJ7TW pic.twitter.com/WOfAevviOx
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) December 13, 2017
Authorities did not immediately say if the man detained was also responsible for the incendiary devices.
“In looking in that backpack, and comparing it to the two previous incidents to see if there is any connectivity, we don’t see anything at this point,” Kelly said. “This gentleman may be isolated from the other two.”
Kelly said so far no one was taken responsibility any for the devices and authorities are not sure what the motivation is.
Staff photographer Laura Oda contributed to this story.
