Civil court building evacuated due to bomb threat

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SANTIAGO. -  The GOPE (Special Operations Police Force) faces a difficult operation this morning.  A building housing civil courtrooms as well as the Justice Department in downtown Santiago was put on high alert due to a bomb threat.

Police have completely evacuated the building located on the corner of Huérfanos and Amunátegui and have halted pedestrian traffic in the area. 

According to Radio Bio Bio, guards are currently the only people located near the entrance to the building.

The threat was made by means of a telephone call placed to the Radio Cooperativa station headquarters at around 9:00 AM.  According to the radio station, the individual who called also claimed responsibility for an attack carried out on a BCI bank branch office.