Coshocton County Emergency Medical Services ambulance and a decontamination tent were set setup outside Coshocton Regional Medical Center Tuesday. Six employees of Coshocton Municipal Court tested negative for exposure to anthrax and powder in an envelope received by the court was said to be artificial sweetener from preliminary testing.(Photo: Leonard Hayhurst/Tribune)
COSHOCTON - A bomb threat and anthrax scare Wednesday at Coshocton Municipal Court turned out to be a very bad hoax, per Coshocton Fire Chief Mike Layton.
Layton said at about 10:40 a.m. a letter received in the mail was opened at the court that contained a white powder. The letter stated that the powder was anthrax and that a bomb had been placed on a certain vehicle in the parking lot.
Coshocton County Sheriff Tim Rogers said he was not disclosing whose vehicle it was or further details of the letter. He said it was believed that the letter did not originate from Coshocton County, but he did not elaborate further. He said his office was working on identifying a suspect and charges would be considered once a suspect had been determined.
Layton said testing of the powder revealed it to be a type of artificial sweetener. No bomb was found on a vehicle or elsewhere on the premises. Chestnut Street from Sixth to Eighth streets was blocked from traffic until about 2:50 p.m. when emergency crews cleared the scene.
The six court employees in the room where the letter was opened went through a decontamination tent outside the building, according to Coshocton County Emergency Medical Services Director Todd Shroyer. Shroyer said the people were then transported from there by squad to Coshocton County Regional Medical Center where they went through a second decontamination at a tent outside the hospital. This was a precautionary tactic he said.
The Columbus Bomb Squad checked the vehicle in question and general area with a robot and human technician with nothing being found. Assistance was also received from other county agencies and fire departments, Stark County, Muskingum County, Ohio Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which took charge of the powder samples.
“You hate to write this down as a training exercise, but that’s exactly what it turned out to be,” Layton said.
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Coshocton County Sheriff Tim Rogers, Fire Chief Mike Layton, Mayor Steve Mercer and City Services Director Max Crown addressed the media at a press conference Wednesday regarding a bomb threat and anthrax scare at Coshocton Municipal Court in Coshocton City Hall. (Photo: Leonard Hayhurst/Tribune)
Rogers said numerous agencies responded and at the very least it showed how well all emergency services can work together when such an incident occurs.
“We know we can handle these situations and work well together,” Rogers said.
Mayor Steve Mercer said city hall, where the municipal court is located, was evacuated and closed for the day. Hopewell Industries and Coshocton County Department of Developmental Disabilities across the street was placed on lockdown until the scene was determined to be secure. Nobody outside city hall was evacuated.
Mercer said the court and city hall will be open for business Thursday. He said the court would need to reschedule any hearings it had Wednesday. Mercer and Rogers said they would be on alert for the remainder of the week, but Rogers believed the incident was isolated and does not represent an ongoing threat.
“The tests might have come back negative, but it was a very real experience,” Mercer said regarding the powder and overall situation. “This will have a lasting effect on how we look at things and prepare for the future.”
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