Police investigate threat at state Capitol

This story has been updated.

Connecticut State Capitol Police found nothing suspicious following their investigation of a threat to kill everyone on the capitol grounds and suspect the call was part of a multi-state hoax, an officer said Wednesday.

About four other states received similar threats Tuesday, said Capitol Police Lt. Gregory Wimble on Wednesday.

“We think we fell victim to a swatting type incident,” Wimble said, referring to the practice of calling in false reports of serious crimes. He said the caller used a number through Google to make the call, which means it’s harder to trace.

It’s unlikely police will make arrests in the case, and further investigation is up to federal authorities, Wimble said.

Enhanced security was in place at the state Capitol for about an hour Tuesday afternoon after a person who claimed to have weapons threatened to kill everyone on Capitol grounds, police said.

Police closed entrances to the grounds and put more security around the building. Bomb-sniffing dogs and police patrolled the grounds but found nothing, according to Wimble.

Business continued as usual in the Capitol.

The call came in to the Hartford Police Department, which contacted the Capitol around 3:20 p.m., Wimble said.

“Hartford Police Department called us, let us know that they had received a phone call that a person on the telephone had told them they are on Cap grounds,” Wimble said. “They have a weapon, possibly explosives, and that they were intending to kill everybody on the grounds.”

Wimble said police believed that the call came from an “emotionally disturbed person.”

Police searched the grounds and cars parked on the grounds at both the Capitol and the Legislative Office Building “out of an abundance of caution,” Wimble said.

The search didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, Wimble said.

The Capitol Police will continue to investigate the case. Hartford Police and State Police were on scene. Wimble said they’ve also contacted the FBI.

Wimble said about 4:15 p.m. that police were returning to regular security measures.

Gov. Ned Lamont wasn’t on the grounds during the threat, according to a spokesperson.