Suspicious Shopping Bag Causes Wash. State Capitol Evacuation

The Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad investigated a suspicious bag left in the capitol building. Photo by Tom Banse

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington state troopers evacuated the state capitol building in Olympia for several hours Monday morning due to a bomb scare. Washington State Patrol spokesman Bob Calkins says several witnesses saw a woman deposit a cloth shopping bag in the capitol rotunda and walk away.

"It was left on the state seal, which is roped off. That's a little out of the ordinary," Calkins says. "And then there were some writings in the bag that were not particularly threatening, but also just raised our suspicions a little bit. So we decided to go with the more conservative approach and be cautious."

Calkins says detectives continue to investigate whether the suspicious bag was left with criminal intent or was a political act. He would not go into more detail about the bag's contents.

Relatively few staffers and tourists were in the capitol building when it was evacuated. The Washington Legislature is not in session during the summertime.

By Tom Banse]