Torrance courthouse closed after bomb squad responds to suspicious bag and cryptic note

A suspicious bag seemingly abandoned on a bench prompted the shutdown of the Torrance courthouse early Wednesday and drew the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad to the scene.

Investigators have not officially confirmed whether the liquid-filled bag was determined to be a bomb or other explosive, but one law enforcement source familiar with the situation told The Times it “for sure was intended to hurt someone.”

The source — who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak on the record — also said video cameras captured footage of a man in a hoodie planting the bag along with a note. The note did not describe a clear motive, the source said, but indicated a desire to cause harm and included claims that the man had “killed before.”

Authorities said the incident started around 7:30 a.m., when the Sheriff’s Department responded to a call for service at the courthouse on Maple Avenue, a few hundred feet from both the Torrance Police Department and Torrance City Hall. The courthouse was evacuated, and L.A. Superior Court officials said in a news release that the building would remain closed for the day.

Officials said the department’s bomb squad and crime lab teams showed up around 9 a.m., and focused their attention on the unattended bag sitting next to a large blue cooler on top of a bench in front of the building. It’s not clear what about the bag prompted suspicion.

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Around 10:15 a.m., the department said, the responding teams “rendered the bag safe,” though officials did not specify how.

Television footage showed a bomb-defusing robot creeping up to the bag and poking it until it popped with a bright flash. The Sheriff’s Department did not say whether the bag’s contents or the method of defusing it caused the flash.

Initially, the Sheriff’s Department referred all further questions to the Torrance Police Department, which did not respond to a request for comment. Later in the day, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release that its own Arson Explosives Detail was investigating, with assistance from the FBI.

All matters on the court calendar for Wednesday were rescheduled or transferred to other courthouses, and L.A. Superior Court officials said jurors serving in trials would be notified of their continuance dates.

This may not be the first time the unidentified hooded man left a suspicious bag in the Torrance area. According to the law enforcement source familiar with the situation, at least one other bag was recovered elsewhere several days ago, though it wasn’t publicized at the time.