The Cherokee County Justice Center and Historic Courthouse in Canton reopened Wednesday morning after being closed for more than five hours on Tuesday while authorities searched the buildings and grounds for an alleged bomb.
Cherokee Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jay Baker told the AJC that a male called the Atlanta 911 center shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday, saying that the Cherokee courthouse would be bombed.
Baker said the complex was evacuated as a precaution. Bomb-sniffing dogs from the Sheriff’s Office searched the perimeters and interiors of the buildings and found nothing.
While the search was under way, a second bomb threat to the courthouse was received by Cobb County 911, Baker said.
“The courthouse will remain secure for the rest of the evening and will resume operations tomorrow,” Baker said in an email sent out about 4 p.m. Tuesday.
"There were two buildings that had to be searched and that takes quite a bit of time," Baker told the AJC, explaining why court operations were disrupted for about five hours. "The k-9’s have to be given breaks and watered."
Baker said Wednesday that detectives were following up on leads in an attempt to find out who made the threatening calls.
"In 2008, we had a similar threat made by a suspect trying to avoid a court proceeding. He was identified and charged," Baker said.
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