Fulton County Courthouse reopened after bomb threat

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Fulton County Court complex has re-opened after a late morning bomb threat put the buildings on lockdown for an hour, Fulton County Superior Court spokesman Don Plummer said.

The lockdown, which lasted an hour, disrupted two high-profile trials. Officers from more than 10 agencies searched the buildings after someone called 9-11 saying there was a bomb in the courthouse and that it would explode at 1 p.m., according to Lt. Col. Michael Wilson of the Fulton County Sheriff’s office.

The sheriff's office issued a "shelter in place" order at 11:41 a.m., directing everyone to interior rooms that are away from windows, Plummer said.

Fulton sheriff's deputies, along with police officers and federal agents used bomb sniffing dogs to inspect the three-building complex, Plummer said.

Central Avenue and Pryor Street were closed, Plummer said.

The incident has disrupting the trial of Aimee Michael, accused of causing a four-car crash on Easter. Also, four alleged members of the Nine Trey Blood gang are on trial for murder. Their courtroom is under high security.

Atlanta police say that the threat may have been called in to disrupt an on-going gang trial in the complex, WAGA Fox 5 is reporting. Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. Curtis Davenport told the AJC that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could not confirm a connection between the Nine Trey Blood gang trial and the bomb threat.

"We have nothing to connect the two together," Davenport said.

At least one of the shelter rooms has been opened, and people have been able to re-enter the courtrooms, an AJC reporter said. They still are not allowed to leave the building, the reporter said.

Staff writers Rhonda Cook, Bill Rankin and Ty Tagami contributed to this article