New Delhi, July 22 -- A mandatory evacuation was ordered on Tuesday afternoon at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago's Loop after a man armed with a knife threatened to harm himself in the building's lobby, according to a report which cited authorities.

Staffers were instructed to leave the building around 2:30 p.m. as emergency personnel responded, as per Chicago Sun Times.

"There's a male in the lobby with a knife to his throat threatening suicide," a dispatcher announced over police radio during the unfolding situation, the news outlet reported.

The incident was first reported shortly before 11 a.m., when US Marshals warned the public to avoid the courthouse lobby at 219 S. Dearborn St. The building was placed on lockdown shor...