All clear: SPD East Precinct, other buildings evacuated after suspicious backpack found
Dec 12, 2024, 9:43 AM | Updated: 1:50 pm
Several buildings in Seattle’s Capitol Hill were evacuated Thursday morning after a backpack was found on the front steps of the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct, according to the Seattle Fire Department (SFD).
At 7:45 a.m., a call came in reporting the suspicious backpack. Police evacuated the Seattle Police Department (SPD) East Precinct and apartments and businesses in a two-block radius in the area.
According to a Seattle Fire Department spokesperson, members of the SPD Bomb Squad were sent to inspect the backpack first. After they determined there were no explosives, a hazardous materials team investigated for chemicals or other dangerous substances.
They did find a white powdery substance in that backpack and it turned out to be nothing hazardous. The team on the scene was working to determine what the white powder was.
No chemicals or no explosives were found. Officials gave the “all clear” signal between 9:40 and 9:45 a.m.
“With something like this, it’s a precaution,” SPD Detective Brian Pritchard said. “In this day and age you never know, so we want to do is make sure everyone is safe.”
SPD found a white powdery substance inside a pack left outside the #spd East precinct – not hazardous and no explosives … pic.twitter.com/KdJVGynTPZ
— Luke Duecy (@KIROLukeD) December 12, 2024
The SFD reported on X late Thursday morning that crews conducted multiple tests to determine the area is safe.
“We are turning the scene over to Seattle Police for them to reopen the area after our crews return to service,” the department’s online statement published just after 9:40 a.m. reads.
There were no reported injuries.
Streets around the area were also closed to traffic during the hours where the SFD was on the scene.
No suspect has been taken into custody. However, the SPD said to KIRO 7 the department is looking for a man who may have left the backpack at the scene.
Like something out of science fiction – hazmat crews with #sfd pic.twitter.com/O9CJeHARY5
— Luke Duecy (@KIROLukeD) December 12, 2024
Many neighborhood residents told KIRO NewsRadio they were initially shocked by the sirens and large response. However, some said they’re not surprised the incident involved the East Precinct. “If anything, that makes sense,” Megan, a local resident, said. “That sort of makes sense, if you’re going to target a precinct I could see that happening here in this precinct.”
The SPD East Precinct was the target of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) in 2020 amid protests that were, at times, violent over the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. The SPD vacated and boarded up the precinct only to return days later and reclaim their building.
Contributing: KIRO 7
Luke Duecy is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Luke’s stories here. Follow Luke on X, or email him here.
