Emergency Alarm Triggered at County Buncombe County HHS

Buncombe County -- December 20, 2023:Buncombe County Government For Immediate Release: Update

An emergency alert was triggered this morning at the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Building at 40 Coxe Ave., Asheville at 8:15 a.m.

Employees and visitors were relocated to a staging location while law enforcement initiated a search of the building.

The building has been cleared by law enforcement. At this point, all employees and visitors to the building are safe and accounted for. In order to support employees, the HHS building will be closed to in-person services for the remainder of the day. Clients can access services online at epass.nc.gov or by calling 828-250-5500.
While officials are looking into the circumstances related to the cause of the alarm, we have no evidence to suggest that an active assailant was involved. We will continue to keep the community updated with any new information as it becomes available. We want to thank our law enforcement agencies for the immediate and thorough response to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees and visitors.

𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐇𝐒 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝟒𝟎 𝐂𝐨𝐱𝐞 𝐀𝐯𝐞.; 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞
An emergency alert was triggered this morning at the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Building at 40 Coxe Ave., Asheville. Law enforcement is on scene and is clearing the building. Employees and visitors were relocated to the post office across the street. There is no evidence of an active assailant at this time.
We’ll provide more information as it becomes available.