The Latest: Police Cordon Off Area After Suspicious Package Found at HQ

A man, right, live streams video of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers as he walks outside Bank of America Stadium, where people were protesting, in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. The Carolina Panthers hosted an NFL football game with the Minnesota Vikings at the stadium. When the national anthem was played, the protesters all dropped to one knee as many NFL players have been doing for weeks to call attention to issues, including police shootings. (Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer via AP)

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Latest on protests following the shooting of a man by a Charlotte police officer last week (all times local):

6 p.m.

Police in Charlotte have cordoned off several blocks around their headquarters after a suspicious package was discovered inside the building.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers used vehicles and bicycles to block intersections after the discovery of the package Tuesday afternoon. Fire trucks and a man in an ATF were outside the building.

According to police, the package was discovered just as activists were entering the building to deliver demands to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney. It’s unclear if the package was found in the same area or if there was any connection.

 

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5:50 p.m.

Earlier update:

Charlotte police say they are evacuating headquarters and a bomb squad is investigating a suspicious package.

Images taken near the police headquarters show officers blocking off streets Tuesday, a week after a black man was shot to death by police. The city has been besieged by protests for the past week, with some of them turning violent with fires and looting. More than 80 arrests have been made.

Police have said Keith Scott was armed with a handgun and officers told him repeatedly to drop the weapon before he was shot to death. Scott’s family says he wasn’t armed. Lamont Scott.