Updated 2:05pm

A suspected pipe bomb was found this morning outside the El Dorado County Superior Courthouse in South Lake Tahoe.

The Tahoe Douglas bomb squad X-rayed the device. No explosives were found, though it was described as a “mock device” by officials.

Police are investigating who may have left the device that was put together to look like a pipe bomb.

It was found on the sidewalk by the courthouse by a maintenance work just before 7am May 4.

The courthouse along with the police department and county offices on the other side of the courtyard at the government center were evacuated for a few hours. South Tahoe Middle School students were sheltering in place.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report