Denver's seat of government, the City and County Building at 1437 Bannock St., was locked down due to a threat this morning, according to the Denver Police Department. Police tweeted that the scene was clear at 9:17 a.m.
On Wednesday afternoon, police tweeted that they had identified the suspect they believed was responsible for the threat. The person was believed to be in crisis and due to his condition, they would not provide the person's identity.
Police said they were working on obtaining services for the individual, adding that there is "no ongoing threat to the public." They added the individual was not arrested.
Police say they're still investigating the threat.
In a press conference just before 10 a.m., Denver Director of Public Safety Troy Riggs said there was an active investigation into the threat called into the city.
"We want to get the individual in custody," he said.
He said that he and Denver Police wouldn't be sharing much information about the active investigation into the threat just yet. Deputy Chief of Police Barb Archer said she didn't know the specifics of the threat.
When asked specifically if it was a threat to "shoot up" the building, Archer said, "Not the words 'shoot up,' it was a threat to the building. I don't have the specific language of the call. ... I don't know if it was an explosive threat or a threat to shoot people in the building ... I don't have that level of detail yet."
Deputy Mayor Murphy Robinson said the lockdown was ordered in part because word of the threat came in so early in the morning and employees could still be told not to come in.
"It's much easier to keep everybody out than to get everybody out," Hancock added.
It was an unusual lockdown.
Some workers at the building received a text message a little after 8 a.m. this morning advising them to avoid the area.
"If you are in the building, return to your office and lock down until released by public safety," the text message stated.
Mike Strott, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Hancock, said the mayor was not in the building during the lockdown. He was out of the office when the threat came in. Strott was hunkered down in his office "which is what we have to do in these situations," he said. He had not experienced a lockdown like this in his eight years in the mayor's office, he said.
Authorities have been working to add new security measures at the building, where Denver's mayor and city council members office are, since January after two different drivers in six weeks jumped the curb and drove onto the plaza. Bannock Street has been closed to cars ever since.
This story is developing and will be updated.
