Scare Empties 2 L.A. Buildings

Hundreds of people were evacuated from two downtown Los Angeles buildings Thursday after police were called in to search a moving van illegally parked for hours outside the Criminal Courts Building, police said.

The U-Haul van, which was empty, was parked in a red zone near Broadway and Temple streets, said LAPD Officer Ron Fisher. It had Arizona plates. The Criminal Courts building and the County Hall of Records were evacuated about 4:30 p.m., police said.

The nearby streets were opened and people allowed back into the building within an hour, they said.

In Pasadena, a courthouse was closed for about 40 minutes early Thursday afternoon after someone called in a bomb threat, said police Cmdr. Mary L. Schander.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the LAPD has received many calls about suspicious packages and people.

Also on Thursday, police were called out to the 200 block of North Main Street, when a homeless person’s bag was left unattended, LAPD Officer Don Cox said.

“Two weeks ago, people would have walked past it and not given it a thought,” he said.