— by Lin McNulty —
Red indicating the safety zone closed off due to suspected explosives brought to Courthouse.
At 3:24 p.m. on Sunday, April 12, 2015, Department of Emergency Management’s Brendan Cowan, notified local press of a closure to the San Juan County Courthouse due to possible explosives being brought to the Courthouse.
A local resident, while cleaning out a garage, came across four suspicious looking items, located near guns and ammo, put them in the back of their car and drove them to the Courthouse in order to get help with disposal.
As a precaution, a safety zone was set up around the parked car, closing access to roads adjacent to the front of the Courthouse. County Dispatch was evacuated and relocated to the communications back-up facility at the fire station on Mullis.
Suspected explosive devices brought to Courthouse.
A WA State Patrol bomb squad arrived from Marysville to dispose of the items and determined the suspicious materials brought to Sheriff’s Office to be “Mighty Putty:” a harmless epoxy available from the official As Seen On TV store that is “easy to use, cut, activate, and repair. Powerful binding epoxy. Fix, fill and seal almost anything. Bonds to almost any surface. Holds up to 350 lbs.”
“Just to be clear,” stated Cowan, “this is not a criminal act of any kind.” Always better safe than sorry, but this serves as a good opportunity to remind people to call 911 and to not put any suspicious object in a vehicle and drive it to Town, or anywhere.
This time, everything turned out okay and might even evoke a chuckle. It doesn’t always work that way. It is best to err on the side of caution. Leave it where it lies and call 911.
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This is not just a matter of being led astray by hysterical panic, although that is a very important component of what might have become a very serious tragedy.
Anybody with the slightest knowledge of firearms would have been pretty certain that the suspicious objects were not explosive, or even particularly dangerous.
I wonder why this “local resident” didn’t ask a firearms-savvy neighbor for advice, before bringing these, um, “explosives” into a densely-populated area. Certainly there are still lots of gun users left in this rural county.
The general rule, folks, is: Think carefully first; and only then take action.
It’s lots easier to evacuate a home, than it is to evacuate several densely-populated blocks of a busy town.
When in doubt, don’t panic. Leave the area and call an expert.