Bomb threat called into Santa Ana courthouse from freeway call box

A bomb threat directed at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana from a freeway call box briefly shut down traffic outside the courthouse Wednesday morning but was cleared before business started for the day, sheriff’s department officials said.

The threat came in about 5:30 a.m. when someone used a call box on the 60 Freeway in Riverside County and told a California Highway Patrol dispatcher there was a bomb at the Santa Ana courthouse, said sheriff’s department Lt. Jeff Hallock.

The court had been closed for nearly 12 hours when the call was made so authorities called in the bomb squad. Deputies completed a sweep of the building by 7 a.m. and had cleared the threat as a false alarm, allowing court to open on schedule.

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