Arizona Supreme Court evacuated after package containing explosive substance found

A suspicious package believed to contain an explosive material turned up in the mail room of the Arizona Supreme Court, prompting an evacuation of the courthouse and other Capitol Mall buildings near downtown Phoenix, officials say.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which began Monday at 8 a.m. (5 p.m. Israel time) when the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which provides security for the courthouse complex, was contacted about a suspicious package, the agency says in a statement.

The package was found to contain multiple vials, two of which tested positive for an unspecified “homemade explosive substance,” according to the statement.

The State Courts Building was evacuated as a precaution, along with the state Education Department, the state Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Department of Administration, DPS spokesperson Bart Graves says.

Graves says the Supreme Court was not in session at the time.

The courthouse remained closed while security sweeps of the building were conducted. Graves says authorities are in the process of removing the package from the scene for further investigation and subsequent disposal.

No further official information about the package is provided, but local news media outlets report that the parcel in question bore no return address label. Graves declines to say how or when the parcel arrived or whether it contained a device capable of exploding.