NEWPORT — Police say that a threat the Vermont Department of Children and Families (DCF) received this morning is responsible for the lockdown that took place at the Emory Hebard State Office Building in Newport at around 8:30 a.m.
Police say that an unidentified caller phoned the DCF office in Newport on Friday morning, stating that if the demands they were requesting were not met, they were going to come to the DCF office and engage in active violence.
Police have not said what those demands were, or what type of violence was threatened against the office.
The Newport Police placed the building on lockdown as a precautionary measure while they remained on scene and continued to investigate and try to locate the suspect.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. they had enough information to determine that the building was not in any immediate danger, and the lockdown was lifted.
Police have not said if there have been any arrests made connected to this incident, but they are saying that the investigation is still active.
Currently, the Vermont Senate Committee on Judiciary is working on a bill that would create an enhanced penalty when people in the family services division of DCF are assaulted. The bill would also establish a new offense to address criminal threatening of DCF workers.
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