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Maine Walmarts Evacuated: Bomb Threats Cause Widespread Panic, Prompt Multiple Evacuations Across The State

By Christian Savoy
Published on: 12:25 PST, Nov 29, 2015

Several bomb threats to multiple Walmarts across the state of Maine caused widespread panic among shoppers, and officials were forced to evacuate Walmart stores in numerous counties. According to a report from WMUR, authorities are still investigating a series of automated bomb threats reported at Walmarts throughout the state.

The threats were reportedly made on Saturday evening, according to Houlton police Chief Joe McKenna.

“The caller sounded male, but like a computer generated voice and stated there was a bomb in the [Houlton] Walmart,” McKenna said. “We dispatched fire and police, made contact with [Walmart] management and swept the building but nothing unusual was found.”

Police in several other areas also said the evacuations were due to a voice-automated bomb threat. Throughout the night, police investigated the calls; however, none of the threats were deemed credible, and no explosives were found.

A robotic voice made a call to the police at 7:30 on Saturday to warn of a bomb attack at several Walmart stores in Maine. Police evacuated and searched nearly a dozen stores in several cities and towns, but found no evidence to confirm the threat. Some stores were closed after the threats. The bomb threats were taken very seriously by authorities and the incident became one of the most searched topics on the internet a few weeks after the attacks in Paris.

“It definitely was taken seriously,” said James Ross, chief deputy at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department. “We had two deputies respond to Palmyra, and one deputy assisted at Skowhegan. When nothing was found, Walmart made the decision to reopen,” he continued. “As events unfolded, we learned that a number of other Walmarts in the state had received the exact same threat. The sheriff’s office will be ready to assist other agencies if leads develop.”

CBS 13 wrote that the wide ranging call disrupted shoppers on the traditionally busy Thanksgiving weekend shopping period, but customers were able to go back to some stores later Saturday night. In at least one incident, Waterville police told the publication they did not need to evacuate the store.

Police departments reported receiving the calls concerning multiple Walmarts across the state, including stores in Biddeford, Falmouth, Houlton, Scarborough, Windham, Thomaston, Skowhegan, Newport and Calais. More than eight Maine stores were said to have been affected by the bomb threats.

Following the initial search, a few stores decided to remain closed while night shift staff continued a more thorough search for anything unusual.

“Given that several other stores were called and the nature of the call, we are pretty confident it was a prank call,” McKenna explained. “They all came in about the same time frame.”

Walmart customers were cooperative for the most part during the evacuation, though some were reluctant to abandon their shopping, McKenna stated.

“Some people did want to ask questions,” he said. “We did have to tell them to get out and some were upset the store was going to stay closed after the search.”

Walmart is working closely with police to find those responsible, a Walmart spokesman said. No explosives were found and no injuries were reported in the areas affected by the alert. Although officials confirmed that it was a false alarm, investigators are now trying to determine if the calls were made by the same person.

WCSH 6 reports that similar threats have also been reported across the state; including New Hampshire and Louisiana. A spokesperson for Walmart, Brian Nick, released a statement addressing the issue, saying that “the safety of customers and employees is of utmost importance.” Nick also said that the retail giant’s 4,500 stores across the country often receive bomb threats around Black Friday and the company appreciates the cooperation of local authorities in such a stressful situation.

[Image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images News]

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