Durham County Courthouse, downtown streets reopen after bomb threat

The Durham County Courthouse and streets around the American Tobacco Campus were reopened just before midday Friday after being closed due to a bomb threat.

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office tweeted at 9:24 a.m. that someone reported a bomb at the courthouse.

The tweet said the building on South Dillard Street had been evacuated, and an explosives-detecting dog searched the building.

Law enforcement officers blocked off the American Tobacco Campus including Blackwell and South Mangum streets up toward the downtown train tracks on West Pettigrew Street, according to News & Observer reporters who were on the scene.

No bomb or other explosive device was found.

.”Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident,” Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead said in a news release Friday afternoon. “We must take all threats like this seriously and investigate them fully to ensure the safety of the public. Its a minor inconvenience to make sure no lives are lost.”

In addition to Durham police, the Sheriff’s Office got help from the Durham Fire Department, Durham City/County Emergency Management, Chapel Hill Police, and RDU Police during the incident.

ACC baseball tournament

While police blocked off the northern end of Blackwell Street to investigate the bomb threat, police also blocked off the southern end of the street at the entrance of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Traffic was blocked off already to allow fans to enter the stadium for the ACC baseball tournament game between Clemson and Boston College.

The game was scheduled for 11 a.m.

This story was originally published May 26, 2023 at 10:57 AM.