Fire and medical crews block off 11th Street in front of the Douglas County courthouse, Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Authorities were investigating a suspicious package that was found Friday morning at the courthouse.

An Olathe police department bomb squad robot investigates a suspicious object, Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, at the Douglas County courthouse in downtown Lawrence.

The Douglas County courthouse was evacuated and the bomb squad called Friday morning after a suspicious object was reported outside. Shortly after noon, the object was secured without incident, and the area around the courthouse was reopened.

Crews were called to the courthouse, 11th and Massachusetts streets, at 8:20 a.m. after employees found suspicious bottles of liquid near an east-side handicap entrance. The building was evacuated and Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical responded to the scene shortly after.

After examining the suspicious object, first responders were unable to identify the liquid inside the bottles and called the Olathe police department’s bomb squad unit to examine the objects, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Steve Lewis said. Once on scene, the bomb squad unit used a robot to investigate and retrieve the object.

11th Street, between Mass and New Hampshire, was blocked off during the investigation and was reopened shortly after noon. The courthouse was set to reopen at 1 p.m., according to Douglas County administrator Craig Weinaug. Courthouse employees were in holding rooms at the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center as they waited to return to work, Lewis said.

“Although it might be nothing, we have to take things seriously,” Lewis said. “It’s an inconvenience, but one has to be really safe.”

Less than two weeks ago, the Leavenworth County bomb disposal unit was called in to investigate a suspicious package wrapped in black duct tape in the 1100 block of Vermont Street on Sept. 2. After investigating, the bomb unit concluded that the package, which held a bottle wrapped up inside, was benign.