'Person of Interest' Cleared in Security Breach

Updated at 9:11 p.m.

Detroit, MI — The all-clear was given around mid-afternoon monday after the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center was evacuated and placed on lockdown due to a security breach, according to news reports.

Police released a surveillance photo of an individual they described as a person of interest, according to a tweet from the Detroit Police Department, but authorities determined Monday evening that the individual was not relevant to the investigation, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The focus of the investigation of the security breach at building 2 Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit now shifts to how a different person may have carried the gun through the security screening at the building, a gun-free zone.

“A crime was still committed,” Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody told the Free Press. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Detroit Police at (313) 596-1616.

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A grainy surveillance image indicated a handgun in a bag that made it through a security checkpoint.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig called the situation, which began unfolding about 8:45 a.m. “a security failure.”

“It wasn’t until they realized he might have a handgun that the suspect was already past the security checkpoint, got onto an elevator, and we’re not certain where,” Craig said.

A SWAT team has been called in, and authorities are going floor-by-floor to secure the building, Craig told reporters. It’s unclear when the sweep of the building will be finished, but it was about 25 percent complete at 10:25 a.m.

"There is no threat, no active shooter. We just want to make sure everyone is safe. ... There is a possible breach of security," Craig said at the news conference.

The man with the suspicious bag is white and was wearing a dark-colored suit and yellow shirt, The Detroit News said. He is between 40 and 50 years old and is possibly balding, according to reports.

The building houses several government and court offices. Non-essential workers were sent home for the day, and essential workers were relocated to other buildings.

This is a developing story. Come back to Patch for details as they become available.