Police create perimeter in Kingsport’s Lynn Garden community for public safety concern

-UPDATE, 6 p.m.

A statement posted by Kingsport Police on their social media account says personnel were investigating a suspicious substance or device at a residence on Cooper Street.

Officers had patrol cruisers parked and blocking several streets surrounding the area located a few blocks from the Lynn View Community Center where a command post has been established.

The message also said city investigators were coordinating with additional local, state and federal agencies on the incident and they continue to have some residents staying at a local church after they were evacuated earlier this afternoon as a safety precaution.

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Police officers in Kingsport set up a perimeter Wednesday afternoon around Cooper Street in the Lynn Garden community to address what a city report called a “public safety concern.”

Eyewitnesses said they began to see officers being mobilized around the Lynn View Community Center in SWAT vehicles and other heavy-duty vehicles.

The Kingsport Police Department issued a statement just after 1 p.m. confirming a command post had been established at the center while officers were dispatched into the neighborhood. The report also said select residents in and around the perimeter had been evacuated from their home as a precaution and were being temporarily housed in a safe location.

The agency will release more information as the investigation progresses.

(IMAGE: Property of Kingsport Police Department / Official Facebook)