Oconee County Sheriff's Office Responds to Reported Explosives Device Threat at Itron

(Walhalla, SC)------At around 9:28am this morning, the E-911 Communications Center received a call from the Itron plant located on Highway 11 in West Union in regards to a phone call the plant received regarding a reported explosives device. The plant was evacuated out of abundance of caution and due to safety protocols. Public safety agencies from Oconee County Emergency Services, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and the West Union Police Department responded to the scene. Employees evacuated from the plant are being transported to an undisclosed location by CATbus. An explosives detection K-9 from the Clemson University Police Department was also requested to respond and is on scene. Additional explosive detection K-9’s are also responding in order to help expedite the search process due to the size of the facility. At this time, no injuries or any incident has been reported. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Crimestoppers, with any tips, at 1-844-71-CRIME or online at 71crime.com.

UPDATE: Additional personnel and resources from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division were asked to respond to the scene.  After a thorough search of the facility, no explosive devices were located. Once safe to do so, at around 1:13pm, the process began to transport employees of Itron back to the facility and their vehicles in order to leave the facility.