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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Suspicious package “not a threat”

Emergency vehicles and personnel block commerce street which will remain closed until the Police Department building is cleared by hazmat teams. Photograph by Bill Larson, clarksvilleonline.comClarksville Police Department and the Commerce Street re-opened early this morning after HazMat teams from Fort Campbell determined that a suspicious package brought into the station was not the hazardous material initially suspected.

According to Mayor Johnny Piper, a a man brought an unknown substance into the station around 7:30 p.m. Monday evening, possibly a biological contaminant, resulting in the immediate lockdown of the building and a massive emergency response to the scene.

FBI agents and the Fort Campbell HazMat team examined the package, determined it was not a dangerous substance, and clear the building to reopened at approximately 12:30 a.m., five hours after the initial event occurred. No arrests were made in this case. In a similar occurence, a package was found at Fort Campbell and also determined not to be a threat.

Sandy Shirley, a Clarksville resident who was scheduled to do a citizen ride-along with police last night, was caught up in the events and held in lockdown along with thirteen others in station at that time.

“They (officials) came in after midnight and said it was okay for us to leave,” Shirley said. She was examined by EMS crews, who checked her oxygen levels and blood pressure before releasing her. Shirley watched the emergency response unfold from the vantage point of the front entrance. She was quarantined in a small entryway between the front doors and the entrance to the police station lobby.

No arrests have been made in this case. Shirley will return to the police station this evening for another attempt at completing her ride-along.

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