GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The Gaston County Courthouse was evacuated today following a bomb threat that was later determined to be unfounded.
The threat was called into the clerk’s office just after noon, prompting a shutdown of the courthouse and surrounding areas as emergency response teams conducted a thorough search.
“I was in my chambers, and as soon as I came down, I was whisked out of the courthouse and evacuated,” said Resident Superior Court Judge David Phillips.
The bomb threat came on a day when the county was transitioning to the eCourts system and had a visit from the state supreme court justice.
The courthouse, the sheriff’s front office, and the Department of Human Services were all shut down as a precaution.
Officers from as far as Cabarrus County responded, creating a one-block buffer around the courthouse.
Drones were launched to search from the air, and search dogs checked every car in the five parking lots surrounding the courthouse.
Public Defender Bill Stevenson noted the unprecedented scale of the response to the bomb threat, emphasizing that he had never seen such a large-scale evacuation at the courthouse before.
The all-clear was given after approximately three hours, but the incident was significant enough to disrupt operations, including the cancellation of the Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for that evening.
VIDEO: Florida man arrested for making bomb threats to stores in Rutherford County
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
