A suspicious package led to the evacuation of Jacksonville City Hall
Sheriff John Rutherford said the suspicious device at City Hall will be treated as a bomb
Mayor Alvin Brown said the city followed procedure during the evacuation of City Hall
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The suspicious package that led to the evacuation of City Hall this morning actually contained light bulbs.
More than 300 people were evacuated when the X-ray of the package caught someone's eye in the mail room.
"When we saw the image, we were concerned too," said Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Director John Hartley. "It was a non-descript cardboard box, about eight inches by six inches by six inches."
After evaluating the situation, the bomb squad decided to take the box to a remote facility for further examination.
"We have that ability to do things (detonate a package) on site, but we wanted to get it out of the downtown area," Hartley said.
As the situation was unfolding this morning, Sheriff John Rutherford said the box would be detonated, not enough to destroy it, but enough to separate the pieces.
However, once JSO had the box contained, they used a more detailed examination device to determine it was simply filled with LED light bulbs.
Hartley said the box was found to be from a reputable vendor and was delivered by FedEx, so it was not detonated; it was brought back.
Hartley and Mayor Alvin Brown reiterated that everyone involved did the right thing, and the evacuation was standard procedure in that situation.
Brown said both this morning and this afternoon that employee safety was the most important thing.
PICTURES: City Hall Evacuated
Streets surrounding the area were immediately closed; they reopened around 12:30 p.m. and City Hall was opened shortly after that, once a detailed search of the building was completed.
The JSO bomb squad was called to the scene following the initial call at 8:42 this morning when the suspicious package was discovered going through an mail room X-ray machine, according to JSO spokesperson Melissa Bujeda.
Rutherford confirmed the package was found in the mail room. Councilman Doyle Carter said he learned the package was addressed to City Council.
Mayor Alvin Brown was not in the building at the time; he immediately went to the Emergency Operations Center. "We are following the normal plans and procedures," he said of the evacuation and police activity.
City Hall was the only building evacuated.
First Coast News