Tactical response teams in full turnout gear showed up on the doorstep of LECO Corporation in Southtown St. Joseph early this afternoon following up on fears that a suspicious individual might be in the building at 3000 Lakview Avenue, in a tense situation that was eventually resolved when it was determined that the man they were looking for was not even in Berrien County.
St. Joseph Department of Public Safety officers were joined by Berrien County Sheriff’s Department tactical teams, road patrols and the Michigan State Police along with several other local police units when they sounded an Emergency Alert System warning for people to steer clear of the area of Hilltop Road and South State Street due to the potential threat.
LECO Corporation employees were evacuated from the building as a precautionary measure, and early cautions ballooned into fear of an “active shooter” situation, which was never the case, inasmuch as the suspect involved was actually tracked down in Cass County. The active shooter alerts were raised by several who posted on Facebook.
The noon hour situation was also exacerbated by lunch traffic and heavy road construction all along Hilltop Road.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Response Unit conducted a thorough search of the building to ensure that the facility was safe and secure before issuing the all clear later in the afternoon.
There were no reported injuries, but the full scale search of the building was undertaken to ensure that no incidents of criminal activity or work place violence had occurred.
Police said it was not an active shooter incident, rather an investigation of a suspicious person possibly being inside the building.
LECO Corporation has now resumed business as usual and all other area businesses were released from the lockdown alert as well.
