Oconee County Sheriff's Office K-9 Officer Thor
Oconee County Courthouse
(Walhalla, SC)--------------------------------------The Oconee County Courthouse was evacuated this morning after a call was made to the E-911 Communications Center regarding a threat made to the “Walhalla Courthouse.”
The call was made around 9:33am. The Courthouse was evacuated and secured while Short Street, which runs in front of the main Courthouse entrance, was shut down out of an abundance of caution.
Oconee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 officer Thor, and his handler, Cpl. Justin Stokes, conducted a search of the building. A K-9 officer and handler from the Clemson University Police Department also did a search of the building.
No injuries were reported and nothing suspicious was discovered.
After the building was deemed safe, and no explosives were discovered, the Courthouse reopened just around 10:45am and those who were evacuated were allowed back inside.
Deputies assigned to the Courthouse, along with other deputies who responded to the scene, as well as officers from the Walhalla Police Department, provided security on the outside of the Courthouse while the search was being conducted inside.
A second threat was called into dispatch around 11:13am, with the caller mentioning the “Walhalla Courthouse.” A security sweep was conducted on the outside of the building, however, normal Courthouse operations continued inside due to the previous sweep of the building after the first threat was made.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing the investigation and no further information will be released at this time, including any particular information about the caller to dispatch who made the threat or any further specifics on what the caller said.
The Oconee County Courthouse was evacuated back on June 8th of this year after a threat was made at that time.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Walhalla Police Department and the Clemson University Police Department for their assistance this morning.
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