The Larimer County Justice Center was evacuated early Monday morning and people were told to avoid the area after the discovery of a suspicious package in the area, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

The initial report came in at 7:36 a.m., Deputy Chris Smith said.

The Justice Center, 201 LaPorte Ave., houses the 8th Judicial District court system and is the only building on the block where it is located.

Sheriff’s deputies, working with Fort Collins Police Services, cordoned off the area − bounded by Mountain Avenue to the south, LaPorte Avenue to the north, Howes Street to the west and Mason Street to the east − Smith said. An incident command post had been established in a parking lot to the southeast, outside the perimeter of the evacuation area, according to a Coloradoan photographer on the scene.

Evacuation notices were sent to people in the affected area, the sheriff’s office said in a post on its Facebook page.

Occupants of buildings across the street from the Justice Center, including the Larimer County administrative offices in the old courthouse to the south, at 200 W. Oak St., and the Fort Collins Municipal Court building to the north, 215 N. Mason St., were told to shelter in place until further notice, Smith said.

The sheriff’s office said it will provide updates as they become available on its X.com (formerly Twitter.com) feed.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Coloradoan.com for updates.

Coloradoan photojournalist Lucas Boland contributed to this report.

Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Courthouse in Fort Collins evacuated to investigate suspicious package