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SALT LAKE CITY — Police responding to a large suspicious package at the state Capitol found a gun inside Thursday, a few hours after the building was evacuated as a precaution.
Multiple Salt Lake City bomb units were called to the Capitol to examine the package, which investigators described as 5 feet long and 8 inches wide. They concluded around 6 p.m. that the package did not contain explosives, but instead discovered an unloaded semi-automatic rifle inside, said Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires.
Squires said he didn't know what else may have been inside the package.
A man in a dark gray or blue suit entered the Capitol's south entrance and placed the package on the ground in the center of the rotunda a little before 3:30 p.m., said Utah Highway Patrol Capt. Barton Blair. The object, which was covered in paper, resembled a small casket with its trapezoid shape, and it had a wreath placed in the middle of it, Blair said.
There was also writing on the object, and it appeared to be easy to carry. Squires declined to elaborate on the writing.
The man knelt by the package and appeared to offer a prayer and utter some words, according to Blair. A control room operator spotted the man on surveillance video, and on-site troopers responded to the area in under a minute. However, the man had already left the building through the south entrance, Squires said.
The Capitol, filled to typical capacity for a weekday afternoon, was evacuated shortly afterward. Squires estimated the building would remain closed Thursday night while police continued to inspect it.
Gov. Gary Herbert was not there when the package was left.
Bomb squads, which included robots and K-9 units, scoured the scene looking for other suspicious signs. Nearby office buildings for members of the Utah Senate and House of Representatives were not evacuated. A tour bus and construction workers were turned away from the Capitol building.
"We have an open campus. It's the people's bulding. We want it to feel welcoming, but also we have to deal with individuals who have ill intent and be prepared for that," Squires said.
Police are still trying to determine who left the package, though Squires said investigators have a lead potentially tying the incident to a specific person. The man who left the package did so in a way that was "very conspicuous," the commissioner said.
Surveillance video caught images of the man leaving the Capitol grounds in a white SUV. No license plate number could be detected. A more detailed description of the man who left the package wasn't available Thursday.
"We need to identify this individual and talk to him find out if this was a protest effort, what his issues and motivations are, so we can determine why this took place and why it caused such a disruption today," Squires said.
The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Salt Lake City Police Department will assist the state Department of Public Safety in the investigation into the package.
Anyone with information about who may have left the suspicious package or other details concerning the case is asked to call the Department of Public Safety at 801-887-3800.
Contributing: Geoff Liesik, Nicole Vowell
