All clear after finding a suspicious package outside Duval County Public Schools headquarters
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police have given the all-clear after being called to the Duval County Public Schools headquarters in Southbank Monday morning to investigate a suspicious package found outside the entrance.
Action News Dawn Lopez of Jax was on the scene as crews blocked traffic and emergency patrols rushed to secure the building around 6:30 a.m.
About two hours later, the all-clear was given.
Neighboring apartment buildings and hotels were called, secured and locked down while patrol officers investigated. Roads around DCPS headquarters, which is located on Prudential Drive, were closed.
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We spoke with Duval County Schools Police Chief Greg Burton, who said early morning security was not taken by the package in front of the building.
The package was found to be empty, but Burton did not provide any further description of the package.
Burton said months of training were put into action.
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“It’s the first day of school, it’s not what parents or teachers want to see,” Lopez asked Burton.
“We were ready,” Burton said. “We actually train during the summer for the first day of school and the school year. So we try to train ourselves to tackle anything that might happen on the first day of school. As you can see, we were ready for this.”
Now, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is working to find out who left the package.
Burton said no one was injured and there is no threat to the community. But he asks citizens to be alert and if you see something, say something.
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