The Vermont Statehouse locked its doors on Monday and set up patrols inside and outside the building after receiving threatening calls, officials said.
Statehouse Sergeant-at-Arms Agatha Kessler said that, around 9:30 a.m. Monday, her office got a threatening phone call — about the same time Montpelier police dispatchers said they also received an active shooter threat against the Statehouse.
The caller said there was going to be a shooting at the Statehouse and the caller was going to be responsible for it, according to Carrie McCool, dispatch supervisor for the Montpelier Police Department. She said they routed the call to the Statehouse’s Capitol Police Department.
Two other locations in the U.S. also received active shooter threats on Monday from the same phone number, said Vermont Intelligence Center Director Ron Lafond Jr. He identified the other sites as another statehouse on the East Coast and an elementary school in Oklahoma, but declined to provide more details, citing active investigations in those jurisdictions.
Kessler in consultation with Capitol police decided to lock all access doors to the building on Monday morning, only letting in workers with badges and members of the public after being screened. The measure was not a lockdown, Kessler said, since the movements of people inside the building were not restricted.
As of mid-afternoon Monday, Kessler said Capitol Police Chief John Poleway and his officers were still investigating the threat. In the meantime, several personnel were assigned to patrol inside and outside the building until the end of office hours.
The Statehouse will be open as usual on Tuesday, when legislative sessions for the week resume, Kessler said. Access doors to the building will no longer be locked, in accordance with usual practice, she said.
