By CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer
Somerset — One of Pulaski County’s largest commercial hubs faced an unwelcome interruption in its business Monday after receiving a bomb threat.
At around 12:15 p.m., the threat was called in to the Walmart Supercenter on South U.S. 27, according to manager Allen Adcock. The building was promptly evacuated, with hundreds of customers and employees huddled outside in the expansive parking lot before being let back in about an hour and 10 minutes later.
“We have a code for our associates that they know immediately,” said Adcock. Walmart employees can then begin the process of getting people out of the store when there is a perceived threat to public safety, and an announcement is also made over the P.A. loudspeaker, advising people to exit.
No bomb was discovered, and no one was physically hurt, according to Det. Shannon Smith of the Somerset Police Department. However, that doesn’t mean the incident was entirely free of other kinds of harm.
“I don’t think people understand the impact it has on our community when any business closes — the financial impact and inconvenience on customers,” said Adcock. “We’ve got the flu virus going around and people are trying to get their medication in the pharmacy, and we’ve got the building closing down.”
This is the second time in the last year that there has been such a bomb threat at Walmart, said Adcock. That’s unusually high number of calls, prank or otherwise — Adcock says those are the first two he can remember in the seven years he’s been with the department store. Why the sudden rise in these calls? Adcock doesn’t know, but he wants to see it stop.
“We have to pull a law enforcement officer off the streets that should be busy doing other things,” said Adcock. “I wish people would understand that.”
Moreover, Adcock can’t treat it as just teenage foolishness — calling in a bomb threat is a felony, after all.
“I take it very seriously,” said Adcock. “One human life comes before any business.”
Smith said the incident is under investigation, and police are looking into every possible angle and method of tracking down those responsible.
“We will try to put every asset or technique to work to try to find who did this, and tell the results of investigation to a grand jury (so the perpetrator) can be prosecuted accordingly,” said Smith. “In essence, it’s just a bad set of circumstances. Whomever is responsible has lowered themselves to this level, when they have to put however many people in fear.”
It’s possible that this call could be connected to the other one earlier this year, said Smith, and that possibility will not be eliminated until investigators know whether or not it is correct. Smith also said that federal authorities will be contacted about this incident, as using a telephone to make a threat such as this is a federal violation.
Smith applauded the Walmart workers for making the on-site investigation a smooth one.
“We followed our protocol to assist store personnel in looking for anything that’s out of place, anything that doesn’t look right,” said Smith. “Obviously, the employees and management staff at Walmart know their building inside and out.”
