Call center worker evaluated after Times building threat, police say

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Los Angeles police talk to a man taken into custody in the lobby of the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Friday night after he allegedly made a threat. The man is an employee of VXI Global Solutions, a tenant in the building. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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Officers escort the suspect to a squad car. He was later identified as Matthew Lowes, 28. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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The suspect, Matthew Lowes, allegedly handed his supervisor a bag of ammunition and told her, “I’m not afraid to shoot people, but I don’t want to go to jail.” Lowes is also believed to have told his supervisor that he was depressed and that he carried a weapon because he thought he was being followed. No gun was found. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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The Los Angeles Times building, directly across the street from LAPD headquarters, was placed on lockdown about 8 p.m. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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Suspect Matthew Lowes, 28, works for VXI Global Solutions, which rents space in The Times building. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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Times building workers wait for the all clear to return to their offices after the suspect was apprehended. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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No one was hurt in the incident. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

By Frank Shyong

April 19, 2014 3:55 PM PT

A 28-year-old man who worked at a call center inside the Los Angeles Times building was being held for a mental health evaluation Saturday after he allegedly made threatening statements and handed his supervisor a pillowcase containing ammunition rounds, authorities said.

The incident prompted a lockdown of The Times building Friday night as police searched the structure. The suspect, Matthew Lowes, is an employee of VXI Global Solutions, which rents space in The Times building.

Lowes was reprimanded by his supervisor Friday afternoon and left the building, according to Norma Eisenman, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Lowes returned around 3:30 p.m. and began a conversation with his supervisor, police said.

He handed the supervisor a bag of ammunition and told her, “I’m not afraid to shoot people, but I don’t want to go to jail,” police said. Lowes also told his supervisor that he was depressed and that he carried a weapon because he felt bullied at work, Eisenman said.

Lowes was arrested without incident at 8:20 p.m. on the second floor of the building. Police did not find a weapon in the building.

A box of ammunition was later recovered from Lowes’ locker, she said. He is being held as a suspect in a criminal threat investigation.

frank.shyong@latimes.com
Twitter: @frankshyong