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Temecula CHP investigates 'suspicious device threat' at Temecula DMV

The California Highway Patrol Temecula office continues an investigation into a bomb threat that was called into the Temecula office of the California Department of Motor Vehicles Thursday morning, July 2, causing the office to be evacuated for more than two hours.

According to Officer Mike Lassig, CHP officers were dispatched to the location on Diaz Road in Temecula and arrived on the scene at 10:27 a.m. Officers immediately evacuated the building of all employees and visitors and conducted an internal and exterior search of the facility.

As officers on the scene waited for CHP explosive sniffing K-9s to arrive, officers visited nearby businesses giving them the option of leaving the area or sheltering in place. Officers also closed Diaz Road from Rancho Way to Montezuma Road.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Southwest Station urged the public to stay away from the area and CHP officers diverted traffic. At roughly 11:27 a.m., an alert was sent to Temecula resident’s phones, telling of the investigation and asking them to “shelter in place.”

Lassig said the K-9s executed a search of the building both inside and out and did not find anything explosive or dangerous. Afterward, officers determined the building was safe and cleared the scene at 12:36 p.m.

Lassig said whether or not the DMV would remain open for the remainder of the day was at the discretion of the DMV office. Calls to the DMV regarding whether they would remain open went unanswered.

Lassig said the investigation into the bomb threat call is ongoing.

“Even though the building is secure, we are investigating as to why this person made the threat along with DMV investigators,” Lassig said.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].

 

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