UPDATE: No criminal intent in woman who brought potential bomb to Government Center

(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: 8:40 a.m. 6/29/22 — A 51-year-old woman brought a potentially explosive device to the Rochester Government Center last night "because she genuinely thought it was the right thing to do," Capt. Casey Moilanen with the Rochester Police Department said.

A friend of the woman located the device, which was about the size of "a lady’s shoe" and had "screws and stuff" taped to it, and brought it to the woman’s house.

She, in turn, brought it to the front door of the law enforcement center for investigation.

Law enforcement created a perimeter around the Government Center and did not allow entry until a K-9 determined that the device was probably not explosive.

The woman remained on the scene.

Moilanen cautioned members of the public not to transport potentially explosive devices, which puts a larger population at risk if it does explode.

Instead, he said Rochester law enforcement will create perimeters and investigate devices in the location they’re found.

A bomb squad from the City of St. Paul will come to Rochester today to dispose of the mysterious device, which is currently being kept in a secure location.

UPDATE: 9:40 p.m. 6/28/22 – Rochester police said a person found a device on a bike path by Crossroads Drive in Rochester Tuesday evening. The person put the device in their vehicle and drove it to the Rochester Government Center. Multiple agencies responded along with an Olmsted County bomb sniffing dog responded to the scene.

“We had a woman drop off a suspicious device at the government center. She was then directed to then bring the device out into the middle of the parking lot, which she did. The state duty office was called, the device was described and photographed and sent to them. At the same time the sheriff’s office responded and offered the use of a bomb dog, which we then used . The dog was able to take a look at and smell the device which did not alert on the device,” said Sgt. Steve Thompson.

Police said the device has been removed and the St. Paul Bomb Squad is coming to Rochester Wednesday morning to pick up the device.

The person who brought the device to the government center was detained for a period of time and has since been released, according to police.

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9 p.m. 6/28/22 – Multiple law enforcement agencies have set up a perimeter around the Olmsted County Government Center.

Around 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, authorities have cordoned off the Government center and surrounding area with police tape.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, Rochester police department and the Rochester Fire department are all on scene.

An ABC 6 News reporter at the scene says it appears one person may be in custody.

This is a developing story. ABC 6 has a crew on scene and will provide updates as new information becomes available.