Police prepare to investigate suspicious packages left by a man who made bomb threats at the Department of Corrections office Wednesday morning in Lynnwood. (Photo by David Pan)

A 42-year-old man was booked into Snohomish County Jail on threats to bomb and felony harassment on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

The Department of Corrections Lynnwood Field Office, located in the 18700 block of 33rd Avenue West, was temporarily evacuated while bomb technicians conducted sweeps of the office for suspicious packages left behind by the lone male adult who had entered earlier in the morning making threats to staff members.

The incident started at about 9:12 a.m. when the suspect entered the Department of Corrections Lynnwood Field Office and threatened to blow up the building. The suspect had two backpack-sized bags and threw one of them at an interior window in the office building.

Most of the occupants were able to evacuate except for one employee who was later safely escorted from the building by officers while the man was still inside.

As police were making commands to the suspect to exit,  he walked out on his own volition at about 10:05 a.m. The man, for no known reason, removed all his clothing prior to exiting the office. His last known address was Mountlake Terrace. 

Inside the office, police bomb technicians examined the two suspicious bags left behind by the man. The bags contained papers and computer parts, but nothing harmful, and the building was reopened later in the afternoon.

The man was interviewed by detectives and then booked into the Snohomish County Jail.

A small section of 33^rd Avenue West between 188^th Street Southwest and 184^th Street Southweste was closed for safety precautions during the investigation. The roadway was reopened just before 2 p.m.