The Torrance Courthouse was evacuated Wednesday in response to a suspicious item found at the building.
The situation began around 9 a.m. at the building on Maple Avenue just north of Torrance Boulevard. The building is in the Torrance Civic Center area, which includes City Hall and the Torrance Police Department headquarters.
Torrance police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies initially responded to investigate the suspicious device, and representatives from the FBI arrived later.
Video from the scene Wednesday morning showed a sheriff’s bomb squad robot approaching and detonating what appeared to be an orange inflatable item attached to what may have been a cooler under a bench near the courthouse entrance. Reports from the scene indicated there was a note attached to the item.
It was not immediately clear if any other suspicious items were being investigated, and the nature of the inflatable object found outside remained unknown as of Wednesday afternoon.
Los Angeles Superior Court officials announced early Wednesday afternoon that the building would remain closed for the day, and all matters on calendar were being rescheduled. Time-sensitive matters were relocated to other court buildings.