News

Bomb threat caller identified

Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.

Related stories:

• UW Hospital receives bomb threat (November 6, 2003)
• No leads in metro bus bomb threat (April 18, 2006)
• Educational Sciences cleared after bomb threat (April 28, 2009)
• Bomb threat interferes with city polling place (November 8, 2006)
• Bomb threats rattle colleges (April 19, 2007)

Also by Michelle Samenfeld:

• Company may be fined for missed deadline in Johnson Street construction (December 11, 2003)
• City, university frown on Club Majestic for drink specials (December 9, 2003)
• UW student injured in hit-and-run (November 24, 2003)
• ABC Sports employee dies (November 25, 2003)
• World AIDS Day celebrated locally and globally (December 1, 2003)

Sharing tools:

E-mail this article:

Your e-mail address:

Recipient e-mail address:

Optional message:

Share on:

• Facebook
• Digg
• Newsvine
• reddit
• StumbleUpon
• delicious
• Google
• Yahoo! My Web
• BlogMarks
• Linkroll
• Simpy

• Spurl
• Connotea
• Fark
• Feed Me Links

• Magnolia
• BlinkList
• Sphere
• LinkedIn

• Furl
• Technorati
• AddToAny
• Permalink

The University of Wisconsin Police identified a suspect in Wednesday’s UW Hospital bomb threat case. Police said they have not arrested the suspect due to circumstances beyond their control, but the department anticipates taking him into custody “very soon” and charging him with Felony Bomb Scare.

At around 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, an unidentified male called an employee of the city and said a bomb was in the UW Hospital and that it would explode within an hour. The man called back about six minutes later and said he had been in contact with governmental agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and State Department. When UW Police officers responded to the threat, they found a suspicious bag in the second-floor lobby that was determined not to be a bomb.

UW Police Chief Susan Riseling said Wednesday that her staff believed the caller was lying when he mentioned his contact with other law enforcement agencies.

When police handle a bomb threat, they look for any objects seemingly out of place and bring in a bomb-sniffing dog that is led on a patterned search of the area. If the dog points to the same object twice, the bomb squad is called in.

In this case, police secured the area and set up an evacuated perimeter within the building. The bomb squad’s dog led the way to a suspicious-looking bag inside a recycling bin.