All-Clear Given After Two Riverside Courthouse Explosions

At least two explosions were heard over the lunch hour near the Riverside County Courthouse in Riverside after a bomb threat forced the evacuation of the building this morning.

Much of the news coming from the area has been through social media, as law enforcement kept onlookers away and also worked to keep peace at an Occupy protest at the University of California at Riverside.

On Twitter @EricLinder sent a message shortly after noon stating, “In downtown Riverside, there was a bomb threat, we are all evacuated, and something just exploded. Probably a controlled explosion.”

Then a couple minutes later, “Another explosion in downtown Riverside,” he tweeted.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department confirmed their bomb squad technicians performed the first “controlled explosion” at around 11:40 a.m., which was preceded by a yell, “fire in the hole!”

The blast was said to have sent debris into the air and set off nearby car alarms.

A second explosion happened after noon.

Reporters at the scene said one of the items detonated was a briefcase.

The explosions came after bomb threats were made to the Riverside and San Bernardino County Courthouses on Thursday morning.

“A male caller made threats, saying there was a bomb in a Riverside courthouse,” Riverside County sheriff’s Cpl. Courtney Donowho said. “They’re checking all the facilities to make sure they’re safe.”

More than 200 people evacuated the building in Riverside, and law enforcement kept them 300 feet away.

Deputies in San Bernardino County inspected the jails and courthouse, but did not evacuate the buildings.

In Riverside, deputies signaled the courthouse was clear of any danger around 2 p.m. and lifted the evacuation order.