This post was updated at 6:31 p.m.
A lockdown of the state office complex in Montpelier has been largely lifted after police conducted an hours-long search following a report of a person carrying a gun into one of the buildings Friday.
After searching state buildings following a report of man entering into an office building with a gun late Friday morning, police found no armed intruder and have largely lifted a lockdown.
Police “thoroughly searched” two state office buildings — 133 State St. and 6 Baldwin St. — and found no firearm or intruder, according to a statement from the governor’s office just after 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Those two buildings remain closed while police conduct a second search “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the email, shared by the Vermont State Police. Employees cannot enter those buildings until the searches are complete.
The lockdown on the rest of Montpelier state buildings, including the Vermont Statehouse and the building which houses the Department of Motor Vehicles, has been lifted.
State officials said earlier Friday afternoon that the situation was “well under control” after a report of an armed man entering a state office building in Montpelier prompted a lockdown of the Capitol Complex.
Gov. Phil Scott said in an email that local, state and federal law enforcement were responding to the report of a person with a gun entering 133 State St.
In response, all state buildings in the capital were put on lockdown and part of State Street was closed to traffic.
A passerby reportedly saw a white male entering 133 State St. carrying what appeared to be a gun, Buildings and General Services Commissioner Chris Cole said earlier on Friday.
There was a large law enforcement presence in Montpelier at midday.
For hours, Vermont State Police clad in bulletproof vests carrying firearms could be seen entering the building.
State police referred comment to the Montpelier Police Department, whose chief did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday.
State employees at 133 State St., which houses the Tax Department, the Agency of Digital Services and other office spaces, were evacuated from the building around noon and held in lockdown in the Statehouse.
Employees said that while they were waiting in the Statehouse cafeteria, around 1 p.m., an alarm was triggered when a law enforcement officer entered the building. The alarm instructed them to seek safety, and sent many employees looking for cover, even though there was no danger.
“We went into the kitchen and hunkered down behind the counter near the grill,” said Jeff Dooley, a Tax Department employee.
“We locked ourselves in the bathroom. It’s the only place we had to go,” another Tax Department employee said.
Harvy Simkovits and Steve Shama were wrapping up a tour of the Statehouse just before noon when police officers entered the building and told them about the report of an armed intruder in the building next door.
“Just as the tour ended, we were ready to say goodbye, the cops came in there,” he said. “They didn’t know if it was real, they didn’t know more than we do.”
They were asked to stay in the building for three and a half hours, while police swept state buildings.
“We liked the tour,” Shama, who said he had visited the Statehouse once before. “Except the ending which we didn’t particularly care for.”
The lockdown disrupted business at state offices. The Supreme Court, on its website, advised that because of the lockdown, the court was not accessible, and filings due Friday could be filed on Tuesday, after the holiday weekend.
Schools in Montpelier went into “lock-out” at the advice of the Montpelier police Friday afternoon.
That means that it’s “business as usual” inside the schools, but that no one was allowed in or out of the building until police gave the all-clear.
Kit Norton, Elizabeth Hewitt and Lola Duffort contributed to this story.
