2 Hospitalized - Including Sheriff's Deputy - After Suspicious Package Opened At Central Justice Center
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) -- Authorities said four people were overcome by a suspicious package Thursday after it was opened inside the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
Officials said one of the four was an Orange County sheriff's deputy.
The package was reportedly opened by the deputy around 2:30 p.m. near a courtroom that hears family law disputes, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz.
Two of the four people exposed to the contents of the cardboard box were hospitalized. Two other people were treated at the scene and released, officials said.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Claudia Silbar was not present at the time the package was opened and the court was not in session, court spokesman Kostas Kalaitzidis said.
Hazardous materials and bomb squad investigators analyzed the package, Kurtz said.
The incident had a "minimal" impact on courtroom business, Kalaitzidis said.
Just after 6 p.m., the five courthouses on the building's third floor were given the all-clear, reported CBS2's Stacey Butler.
The contents of the box were taken to an Orange County Sheriff's Department for further examination, Kurtz said.
It was unclear if the package was mailed or left at the location.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
