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Police: Library threats spurred by mental health issue

The entrance of the renovated Shadle Park Library. The Spokane library system closed its doors over the weekend after threats of violence were made over the weekend. The person behind the threats has been identified.  (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)
By Adam Shanks adams@spokesman.com(509) 459-5136

A threat that prompted the Spokane Public Library to close its branches this weekend was made by a person experiencing a mental health issue, according to Spokane Police.

The person was identified and reached Monday morning by the department’s behavioral health unit, which took the person to a medical facility to receive an evaluation, according to Spokane police Cpl. Nick Briggs.

The person has not been charged with a crime, but that remains a possibility, Briggs said.

The person has a history of mental health issues, according to police.

The behavioral health unit pairs mental health clinicians from Frontier Behavioral Health with Spokane police officers.

The Spokane Public Library reopened Monday after closing all of its branches on Saturday and Sunday in response to threats made on Twitter.

The tweets were made at about 4 a.m. on Saturday and were not specific, according to library officials, but one tagged the library’s Twitter account directly.

The decision to close was the library’s, according to police.