Hazmat team responds to courthouse incident

A Hazmat team was called to the Crook County Courthouse on Friday after it became the third Wyoming courthouse in a week to receive suspicious mail.

As with the previous two cases, the letter tested negative for hazardous substances. The incidents are now being investigated by the FBI.

According to Crook County Sheriff’s Office, the suspicious letter arrived in the regular mail distribution and was reported at around 3:10 p.m.

Prior to this incident, all offices in the courthouse had been advised to be on the lookout for suspicious mail of this nature, which had been reported in Gillette and Casper.

A representative from the sheriff’s office examined the article of mail. Finding it had not been opened, they took it into possession and sealed it out of caution.

As the advisement had instructed them to advise Emergency Management, Coordinator Ed Robinson was contacted.

Robinson in turn contacted the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security and was put in touch with the FBI agent overseeing the investigation of the Gillette and Casper incidents.

According to Crook County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI requested a Hazmat team respond and check the letter for hazardous substances.

As the letter was unopened and there was no indication of hazardous material, no isolation of persons or property other than the mail itself was initiated. The mail was secured at the sheriff’s office until Hazmat arrived.

The Hazmat team from Campbell County, which houses the Regional Response Team #1, arrived at around 6 p.m. and was assisted by Sundance Volunteer Fire Department.

Hazmat was given access to the letter and did an inspection after removing it from the building. It was tested and found to be negative for hazardous substances.

The letter was turned over to the FBI agent. The FBI will be taking on the case as part of the overall investigation.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office reassures the public that at no time was anyone in immediate danger of hazardous substances and no disruption of government services occurred at the courthouse.

The previous two incidents in Gillette and Casper, however, did cause disruption.

According to the Gillette News Record, the FBI is investigating a bioterrorism threat made in a letter that was opened last Tuesday by an employee of the Campbell County Attorney’s Office. The scene was contained and parts of the building were evacuated, while of the ten people quarantined for potential exposure to the substance, one was taken to hospital, treated and released.

The courthouse reopened after the substance was deemed non-hazardous by the Wyoming National Guard Civil Support Team. The substance is reported to have tested negative to biological and radiological hazards and had no other chemical hazards that could pose a threat to citizens and responders.

On Thursday, according to Casper Police Department, the Hall of Justice was temporarily closed after emergency personnel responded to a report of a suspicious package delivered to the Natrona County District Attorney’s Office. The building was cleared and it was determined that no threat was present in the building.