Bomb threat evacuates Columbia DMV office

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Law enforcement officials have given the “all-clear” after a bomb threat forced the evacuation of the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicle's office on Shop Road just outside the city of Columbia.

Richland County Sheriff's Department spokesman Curtis Wilson said at about 12:20 p.m. that the building had been cleared.

About 50 customers and 23 employees left the building in an orderly fashion shortly before 10 a.m., DMV spokeswoman Beth Park said. No one was hurt. Bomb-sniffing dogs went through the building around noon, she said.

The area around the building also was evacuated, Wilson said.

Columbia fire chief Aubrey Jenkins dispatched firefighters. SLED also was on the scene. And Wilson said a HAZMAT team was at the site. HAZMAT is an abbrevation for hazardous material, usually flammable or explosive, that poses a danger to life.

Lunchtime traffic backed up toward 1-77.

The one-story DMV building at 1630 Shop Rd is where many Columbia area residents go to get license tags, car registrations and drivers' licenses.

Parks said the DMV's Shop Road office received a phone call warning of the bomb around 9:43 a.m.

John Monk

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Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

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Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

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Bomb threat evacuates Columbia DMV office

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