This post was updated at 4:37 p.m.
A lockdown of the state office complex in Montpelier has been largely lifted after police conducted an hours-long search following a report of a person carrying a gun into one of the buildings Friday.
Police “thoroughly searched” two state office buildings — 133 State Street and 6 Baldwin Street — and found no firearm or intruder, according
Those two buildings remain closed while police conduct a second search “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the email, shared by the Vermont State Police. Employees cannot enter those buildings until the searches are complete.
The lockdown on the rest of Montpelier state office buildings has been lifted.
State officials said earlier Friday afternoon that the situation was “well under control” after a report of an armed man entering a state office building in Montpelier prompted a lockdown of the Capitol Complex Friday.
Gov. Phil Scott said in an email that local, state and federal law enforcement were responding to the report of a person with a gun entering 133 State Street.
In response, all state buildings in the capital were put on lockdown and part of State Street was closed to traffic, according to the governor.
A passerby reportedly saw a white male entering 133 State Street carrying what appeared to be a gun, Buildings and General Services Commissioner Chris Cole said earlier on Friday.
A Montpelier police dispatcher confirmed that there was a report of someone entering the building with a weapon, but said they could not provide a description of the weapon.
There was a large law enforcement presence in Montpelier at midday.
Vermont State Police clad in bulletproof vests carrying firearms could be seen entering the building shortly before noon.
Police were evacuating employees from the building and screening them as they left the building. As of about 12:30 p.m., the first floor had been cleared.
The building, adjacent to the Statehouse, houses the Tax Department.
Montpelier-Roxbury schools superintendent Libby Bonesteel said the city’s schools had gone into a “lock-out” at the advice of the Montpelier police. That means that it’s “business as usual” inside the schools, she said, but that no one is allowed in or out of the building until police give the all-clear. Parents have been notified via email and a phone call.
“All the kids are safe. It’s a precautionary measure,” she said.
This is a developing story and this post will be updated.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Montpelier state offices lockdown lifted after report of armed man.