Extra

UC Berkeley Lab Building Re-Opens after Bomb Scare

By Sasha Lekach (BCN)
Wednesday February 06, 2013 - 03:01:00 PM

Authorities have reopened streets near two buildings that were evacuated this morning after a bomb threat was reported at a University of California at Berkeley-affiliated office in Emeryville. 

Police gave the all-clear to reopen the roads and buildings around 1 p.m. after the threat came into an office space rented by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the EmeryStation East building at 5885 Hollis St. 

The threat was reported around 7 a.m., UC Berkeley police Lt. Eric Tejada said.  

A second office building located across the street from EmeryStation East had also been evacuated as a precaution. 

Bomb-sniffing K-9 units from the UC Berkeley Police Department, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security finished their inspections, Tejada said. 

He said the threat came into the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory office and employees called UC Berkeley police. 

"It seemed credible, so we took it seriously," he said. 

He said authorities are investigating who sent the threat. He would not disclose how the threat was delivered to the office. 

Two floors that house the lab facility were still closed when the threat was received. They remained closed during the investigation. 

Other occupants evacuated the building after the threat.