ST JOHN’S, Antigua : Police have issued a strong warning to people who insist on issuing bomb threats that they are breaking the law and could be prosecuted for public mischief.
The warning comes from Public Relations Officer, Senior Sergeant William Holder, who said yesterday’s bomb scare at the building housing ACT and Call Center Services, formerly known as Bodog, used up police resources that could have been best served elsewhere.
“This is very dangerous. It is not just the police. We have to have a medical team on standby; the hospital and other emergency response services in the event of an explosion because we don’t know if it is a legitimate call,” Holder said yesterday.
The police yesterday evacuated scores of workers who lined the street outside the ACT building at approximately 3 pm after a prankster issued a bomb threat via phone. The structure was checked for explosives and within an hour, the bomb squad cleared the building and work at the business place resumed.
“It is difficult. We need to be able to trace the call and once we can find the person, they can be charged with public mischief, and based on the outcome of the investigation other charges are likely,” Holder said.
“We want to encourage people to desist from this practice because police have to use up their resources to investigate these matters. We have to pull away from investigating other matters and deal with these reports.”
Police continue to look into the matter.
Over a year ago, a bomb scare forced closure of all 13 police precincts when an unidentified man called Police Headquarters, and told an officer that one of the stations would be bombed.
Two months later, Managing Director of Joe Mike’s Hotel Plaza Joseph Yousef Michael received a text message on his mobile phone notifying him that a bomb was inside the building.
Both incidents were deemed hoaxes. There were no arrests in either matter.
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