Reported hostage situation at Jefferson City building a false alarm

JEFFERSON CITY | An office building near the Capitol building and governor’s mansion was locked down for several hours Tuesday in an apparent false alarm involving reports of a hostage.

An employee at a state agency in the building said she heard what she believed to be a warning of a hostage situation through an intercom system, police said. She told a supervisor, who in turn called the building’s security company, which notified police.

After searching and evacuating the building with two tactical teams, law enforcement officials concluded there was no hostage.

“We have every reason to believe that the individuals in the building acted on what they thought was an actual hostage situation,” said Jefferson City police Capt. Michael Smith. “But we’re trying to determine where the initial report came from.”

Mark Hughes, a staff adviser with the Missouri Public Service Commission, was in the building throughout the lockdown.

He said the commission, which occupies offices on several floors of the building, was instructed by police to keep employees in their offices.

The Governor Office Building was surrounded by law enforcement shortly after 10 a.m.

At one point, officers with assault rifles took positions on the streets surrounding the building and even in the front yard of the governor’s mansion across the street. A police helicopter circled overhead.

When police arrived on the scene, they heard a public address system warning of a hostage situation, although it was unclear whether this was the same warning the woman heard or a subsequent one based on her report.

About noon, police sent in the tactical teams, which methodically searched the building and checked the identities of everyone present. By 2 p.m., streets were reopened.