Building Evacuated in Gunman Scare

Police closed a 12-story building in Glendale and slowly evacuated about 500 office workers Wednesday after the owner of a snack bar spotted a man with a rifle entering the building.

But the painstaking, five-hour search of the building at 330 N. Brand Blvd. produced nothing but inconvenience for scores of people whose schedules were disrupted. They included dozens of workers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Small Business Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.

Late Wednesday, police said they had identified a suspect they described as a “disgruntled individual” who had made threats against someone or some agency in the building Tuesday. But the gunman escaped and police declined to name the suspect.

Some of the 33 businesses that occupy the building sent workers home early. KZLA, a country music radio station, went on automatic pilot after disc jockeys were escorted out.

Many workers were hustled out before they had time to save material on computer screens. Many couldn’t get their cars out of the parking garage. Others left keys and purses, missed appointments, or missed flights for the holiday weekend.

Jennifer Owens missed being fitted for her wedding dress. “I’m upset. Here I am outside getting sunburned. I was supposed to leave at noon,” she said.

The suspect was spotted about 9:40 a.m. as he entered the building and got on an elevator, said Sgt. Rick Young, a police spokesman.

As the suspect walked, he dropped his jacket, exposing a rifle underneath. A witness called 911, and police arrived and instructed workers to lock themselves in their suites while a floor-by-floor search was conducted.

After an exhaustive search, police reopened the building shortly before 3 p.m. The suspect probably slipped out the back as soon as he realized he had been spotted, Young said.

Workers were paraded past witness as they were escorted out. Because police worked from the top to the bottom, those on the lower floors had to wait, locked in their offices for hours before police got to them. “Bored and nervous,” is how Josie Negrete, an analyst with One Healthplan of California, described the office mood during their three-hour wait.

Many workers were too distracted to get anything done--some went out on the balcony to wave to news helicopters or watched television hoping for news.

But others took papers and briefcases out on the sidewalk with them.

“I need to get additional projections done,” said Nancy Ferri, an accountant who sat next to the police tape and started working as soon as she was evacuated.

She had to cancel a morning meeting, she said. When she told them why, “they think I’m crazy. It’s like this only happens in Hollywood.”