Guard Leaving Post Led to Evacuation of Municipal Center

Detroit, MI — A security guard stepping away from his post led to yesterday’s lockdown and evacuation of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, according to police.

Sgt. Michael Woody of the Detroit Police Department told the Detroit News that the guard, working for the private security firm Securitas, which checks the bags of guests entering the building, stepped away from his post to address a security threat posed by someone who had just gone through the line.

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At this time, what is believed to be a gun in a bag passed through the X-ray machine unnoticed. When another officer looked at the X-ray image and saw that someone was possibly carrying a gun in their briefcase, it was too late. By that time, the man had already grabbed his bag and entered an elevator.

There were no injuries, and no shooting occurred. Craig said the incident was an "opportunity to evaluate security here.”

"Unfortunately, there was nothing we could charge him with," Craig said of the man initially sought as a person of interest. "We did not recover the gun. He didn't acknowledge having a gun. And then our witness, the security officer, could not positively identify (him)."

He said that Securitas has done good work finding eight guns in the past several months, and it will be up to the firm how to handle the guard's mistake.

Craig said that judges questioned why the building was shut down for the incident, but given the shootings in Orlando, Florida, and San Bernardino, California, he said he made the judgment call to ensure safety.

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