Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Employees and customers of the Kenai Walmart Supercenter return to the  store after being briefly evacuated for a phoned-in bomb threat Monday, Aug. 29, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Several others were phoned in to stores in the Anchorage area.

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Employees and customers of the Kenai Walmart Supercenter return to the store after being briefly evacuated for a phoned-in bomb threat Monday, Aug. 29, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Several others were phoned in to stores in the Anchorage area.

Bomb threat called in to Kenai Walmart

Police in Kenai responded to a bomb threat at the Kenai Walmart on Monday morning.

Employees and customers chatted and enjoyed the 75-degree, sunny weather as the Kenai Police Department swept the building after a bomb threat was phoned in. Walmart employees called the threat in to the Kenai Police Department at 10:09 a.m. as the managers were in the process of evacuating the store, said Kenai Police Chief Dave Ross.

“We had officers search the building and nothing was found,” Ross said. “We’re still investigating.”

Employees and customers returned to the store around 11:15 a.m. For any future leads, the Kenai Police Department will coordinate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Anchorage, which handles bomb threats because they are federal felony offenses.

Several bomb threats were also phoned in to Anchorage-area stores around the same time. Staci Feger-Pellessier, a spokesperson for the FBI in Anchorage, said there was no additional information available Monday about the threats in Anchorage.

Ross said it wasn’t clear whether the calls in Anchorage and the call in Kenai were connected, though they occurred around the same time.

Walmart spokesperson Charles Crowson said in an email that the company would continue to work with law enforcement agencies to find those responsible.

“What happened (Monday) is frustrating, and we recognize the seriousness of someone making any threat against our stores,” he said.

“Our customers and associates deserve to shop and work without worrying about their safety being threatened, even when that threat turns out to be a hoax. We’re grateful local law enforcement has been responsive to these calls and has ensured the safety of everyone at our stores until the matters have been resolved.”

 

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Samantha Springer, left, and Michelle Walker stand in the lobby of the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Springer named new head of Kenai chamber

Springer, who was raised in Anchorage, said she’s lived on the Kenai Peninsula since 2021

Forever Dance performers rehearse “Storytellers” on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Storytellers’ weave tales with their feet

Dance and literature intersect in latest Forever Dance showcase

Soldotna City Hall is photographed on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna OKs donation of portable shower, restroom facilities to homelessness coalition

The city purchased the portable restroom and shower trailer for about $182,000 in October 2020

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation building is seen in Juneau, Alaska, in March 2022. The deadline for the permanent fund dividend is coming up fast, landing on March 31, 2023. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
PFD application deadline is next week; state revenue forecasts lower than expected

Alaska North Slope crude oil was estimated to be about $71.62 per barrel on Monday

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
COVID-19: Cases jump in Kenai Peninsula Borough

No hospitalizations were reported in the Gulf Coast region

The Challenger Learning Center is seen in Kenai, Alaska, on Sept. 10, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Transportation gaps to be the focus of community meeting

The goal is to create a task force who can regularly meet and move forward on the issue

Bob Schroeder takes an electric chainsaw to a mock credit card during a protest outside the Wells Fargo in downtown Juneau at midday Tuesday. Schroeder cut up three mock credit cards representing three banks in Juneau protesters say are leading funders of fossil fuel development projects. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Protesters object to banks financing fossil fuel projects

Demonstrators used chain saw to cut up giant credit cards

The members of Sankofa Dance Theater Alaska perform for a crowd of students during an opening performance at Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science in Kenai, Alaska on Monday, March 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Uniting through movement

Kaleidoscope students learn about western African dances and music with in-residence artists

A blizzard warning is issued for the Eastern Kenai Peninsula and beyond by the National Weather Service on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (Screenshot)
Blizzard warning issued for Seward, Turnagain Pass

Snow accumulation is predicted to be from 7 to 20 inches

Most Read