Chatsworth Courthouse evacuated after woman refuses to have backpack screened

The Chatsworth Courthouse was evacuated Wednesday afternoon when a woman refused to allow security officers to scan her backpack and started shouting, officials said.

Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad had detonated the package as of 2:50 p.m., and the woman is being held for a mental health observation, according to Cmdr. Keith Swensson, a department spokesman.

The woman, who was not identified, entered the courthouse around 1 p.m. and clashed with security officials after they attempted to check her backpack, Swensson said. After she began shouting, police evacuated the courthouse and surrounding area while she remained in the courthouse lobby.

Swensson said the woman had a history of mental illness.

No one was injured, and nothing dangerous was discovered in the bag, he said. The courthouse will remain closed until sheriff’s investigators complete a sweep of the building.

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Earlier in the day, reports of a suspicious package caused Los Angeles police to shut down a major shopping area along the Sunset Strip. Sunset Boulevard was closed between Laurel Canyon and Crescent Heights for several hours after the package was reported in a parking lot around 8 a.m.

Ultimately, the contents of the package were determined to be harmless.

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