Kellogg reopens after cops investigate ‘suspicious package’ left at Wichita abortion clinic

Authorities completely shut down a stretch of Kellogg in east Wichita for several hours Wednesday after security doing routine checks at a clinic that provides abortion services discovered a suspicious-looking package outside of the building. Authorities later determined the item contained nothing explosive.

Wichita police said it closed Kellogg between Oliver and west of Rock Road “out of an abundance of caution” for public safety, blocked off surrounding streets and encouraged neighborhood residents to evacuate or shelter in place as they investigated the “suspicious device,” which was found around 7 a.m. in the 5100 block of East Kellogg Drive. Worry over any potential danger the discovered item might pose also drew the Wichita Police Department’s bomb squad to the scene.

Kellogg was closed from around 8 a.m. until around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“The situation has safely been resolved,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said in social media posts shortly after 2 p.m. that also thanked all involved “in safely bringing this to a resolution.”

“We understand the frustration this may have caused to the citizens of Wichita. Our priority is to ensure the safety of the public and we appreciate your patience and understanding,” Sullivan wrote in the posts.

The item was described on emergency radio traffic as a “suspicious suitcase” found along a privacy fence at 5107 E. Kellogg Dr., the location of Trust Women Wichita, which provides abortion and other reproductive health services. A security person called 911, according to the radio traffic.

Discovery of the device, which police would not describe specifically in a Wednesday morning news briefing, comes exactly one year after Kansas voters rejected the Value Them Both constitutional amendment, which would have given lawmakers the ability to impose new restrictions on abortion. The timing of the discovery sparked concerns that it might be tied to the vote’s Aug. 2 anniversary.

But it wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday who left the package or whether the item was tied in any way to the clinic’s work or last year’s vote. Police declined to name the business where the item was discovered in a morning news briefing, but Trust Women confirmed its Wichita clinic was the location.

On Wednesday morning and early afternoon, police cars were parked on the south side of Kellogg, outside of the clinic. Several law enforcement officers, including members of the bomb squad, were on site and a bomb squad robot was operating on the north side of the building. Other agencies, including on the federal level, were also involved in the investigation, police said.

When The Eagle called the Trust Women clinic on Wednesday, a recorded message said it was currently closed.

Zack Gingrich-Gaylord, communications director for Trust Women, said by email that the clinic had no patient appointments scheduled for Wednesday, which is the reason it wasn’t open.

Security for the clinic called police after finding a “suspicious package” near the building while making “normal rounds” Wednesday morning, Gingrich-Gaylord said.

“Staff had not arrived to work by that time, and again, no patients were scheduled. We have experienced minimal disruptions to our services and operations as a result,” Gingrich-Gaylord said.

Trust Women, in a news release, said it is “grateful for our security staff and their dedication in keeping our clinic, staff and patients safe” and condemned “continued violence” directed at abortion providers.

Wichita police Lt. Aaron Moses told media at the scene Wednesday morning that the device was reported to 911 around 7 a.m.

“Officers arrived and located the suspicious device, and at that point a perimeter was established. The area was shut down out of an abundance of caution,” Moses said.

That included keeping motorists off of Kellogg in the area for more than five hours and closing side streets around the clinic.

The police department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team — or bomb squad — responded to evaluate the suspicious item, Moses said, adding that the closures would continue until “we can determine that everything is safe for the public to resume their normal activities.”

Businesses in the area were notified of the situation and residents in the surrounding neighborhood were encouraged to voluntarily evacuate or to shelter in place. Moses said the measures were necessary to curb public access to the area “as much as possible to limit any sort of danger” in case the item was an explosive.

Late morning Wednesday, traffic along eastbound Kellogg was backed up to the Canal Route and westbound traffic was backed up to Webb. Eastbound traffic was being diverted at the Oliver exit. Westbound motorists were being directed to exit the highway at Rock Road.

The main area shut down stretched from Kellogg to Orme and Oliver to Pinecrest, Moses said.