Bomb threat empties state office complex

A bomb threat to the Attorney General's office prompted evacuation this morning just after 10 am, of the State Office Complex in Tucson where AZGS is  housed.   Police just gave us clearance to return to our offices after 3 and a half hours.  They brought in bomb-sniffing dogs and a robot from the Tucson Police Bomb Squad [right, robot rolling off the ramp.  bottom, robot on its way to investigate backpack. Trucks in the street carried the canine units].

News reports say similar threats were called into the Attorney General's offices in Phoenix and Prescott.  The Tucson office was the last to be cleared because of a suspicious backpack found outside our building entrance that was situated such that if it was a bomb, would have been aimed at people leaving the main entrance.  The robot unit was sent in to investigate along with officers in body armor and blast gear.

From conversations with officers on the street, nothing was found., and we  were allowed to return about 1:30 pm.     For most employees, our vehicles were in the parking garage and not accessible.   After about 2 hours they brought in city buses so state employees could get in out of the heat which has been just under 100F.  A lot of folks headed to nearby stores and restaurants for an early lunch and cooler air.