(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
On Friday, January 17th, 2025, at approximately 2:15PM a 29-year-old female communicated to a Racine County employee that she had just placed a bomb within a publicly accessible area of the Racine County Jail. Immediate precautionary measures were taken to ensure the safety of the facility, its occupants, and the public.
Sheriff’s Office staff quickly determined there was a suspicious package left by a person just prior to receiving this threat, and while leaving the package, she stated to other members of the public that she was going to, “blow up” the building and that there was a bomb inside the package she had left.
Racine County Sheriff’s Office deputies quickly coordinated a response by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office’s Bomb Squad to handle the suspicious package. During their response, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office swiftly identified the suspect who had both left the package in a public area of the facility and informed an employee about the presence of a bomb inside the building.
The suspect, a 29-year-old female who resides in Racine, WI was quickly located and taken into custody at 2:50PM.
Upon arrival of the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad, their technicians were able to quickly X-Ray the item and determine the item was not an explosive device and therefore not a hazard to the facility, its occupants, or the public.
Additional investigation into this incident is ongoing and the person responsible for this event remains in custody. No other people are believed to be involved in this event and there is no further danger to the facility, its occupants, or the public.
“The Racine County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad for their immediate response and expertise in handling events such as this,” said Racine County Sheriff Chris Schmaling.
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office’s Bomb Squad is responsible for assisting on any explosive device call throughout Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth Counties. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office has one of only six bomb squads in the State of Wisconsin and one of only about 450 bomb squads in the country.
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