By +Scott Leffler 
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

---

Niagara County Courthouse remains closed until 5 p.m. despite emergency responders and bomb sniffing dogs clearing the building and finding no threat.

According to LPD, a bomb threat came in to the county court system by telephone at 1:35 p.m., saying "There's a bomb in the building. Get everyone out."

The building was immediately evacuated.

Bomb sniffing dogs from multiple agencies searched the Hawley Street building. Lockport firefighters checked the cars in the parking lot. Drivers were eventually cleared to retrieve their vehicles but county employees were not permitted to return into the building.

The building has only one public entrance during business hours guarded by a metal detector and armed guards. Some county employees, however, are permitted access to the building without passing through the metal detector.

Police decided to keep the building closed until 5 p.m. -- and essentially closed to the public until Monday -- as a precaution, despite finding no evidence of a bomb.

---

Check out East Niagara Post videos on YouTube, Vine and Periscope.