Gun Scare Shuts Down City Hall Search Turns Up Man Carrying Guitar Case
Spokane City Hall was shut down for nearly two hours Wednesday after several employees reported seeing a man with a gun case inside.
Dozens of police officers converged on the building, closed all entrances and exits and launched a floor-by-floor search for the man.
They found him early on and discovered he was toting a guitar case, not a gun case. Officers questioned the man then let him go.
They continued combing through the building “to assure public safety and to reassure employees,” Police Chief Terry Mangan said in a statement.
Police found nothing suspicious and the building reopened about 2 p.m.
The excitement began just after noon when several employees spotted a man walking through the Spokane Falls Boulevard skywalk with what looked like a shotgun case.
A woman who works on the third floor notified a security guard, who called police, City Manager Bill Pupo said.
Police made everyone inside the building stay where they were during the search. Everyone else had to wait outside.
The City Plan Commission was holding a lunch-hour meeting on the second floor when word came that something was amiss. There was a brief silence and a few jokes, then the meeting continued.
Commission member Loretta Spence said she was concerned that her husband, who’s been ill recently, would find out about the trouble and worry about her.
“I hope he doesn’t hear about this on the news,” Spence said.
Other employees stared out windows and waved at colleagues and the media gathered outside.
Meanwhile, clusters of city employees returned from lunch to find the building closed. They stood outside the main doors, waiting and wondering.
Milt Rowland, an assistant city attorney, said some employees have been “spooked” since last April, when a bomb exploded outside the Post Street entrance.
No one was hurt in the predawn blast, and authorities have made no arrests.
The ongoing trial of the three Valley bombing and robbery suspects at the nearby U.S. Court House also has put employees on edge.
Some employees greeted the news with a shrug.
Cable 5 technician John Delay smirked when he found out someone might be wandering City Hall with a gun. “Just another day at the office,” he said.
Other employees seemed put out by the commotion and complained that they were losing work time.
“Don’t people know the difference between a guitar case and a rifle case?” said Diana Levin, the city’s risk manager.
Pupo said the woman who called security to report the suspicious man acted appropriately.
“She’s to be commended,” he said. “She did the right thing.”
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = From staff reports Staff writers Adam Lynn, Kristina Johnson and Kathy Mulady contributed to this report.