Letter from Syria prompts bomb scare

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A letter, considered suspicious by police, sent to Sarah Brown-Clark, the city’s clerk of courts, caused the evacuation of city hall Tuesday.

It turned out to be a false alarm, said Lt. Doug Bobovnik, commander of the city’s bomb squad.

Brown-Clark received the letter from Damascus, Syria, with what appeared to be Arabic lettering on the outside envelope, about 3:15 p.m., Bobovnik said. She was concerned and called police, who then called in the bomb squad.

The letter led to the evacuation of city hall, which was to close at 4 p.m.

Those who work in the emergency 911 center on city hall’s sixth floor weren’t evacuated because even if something dangerous was in the letter, it wouldn’t pose a threat to those at the center, said Mayor Jay Williams.

The envelope contained a letter to Brown-Clark, Bobovnik said.

“It was a legitimate letter, but we had no way of knowing until we examined it,” he said. “The letter’s origin, the Arabic writing and that [Brown-Clark] was not familiar with the sender’s name made it appear suspicious. We treated it as a serious threat. It was [just] a letter.”

The bomb squad determined the letter was legitimate about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.