Conley Road Walmart to reopen after all-clear; customers say bomb threat led to evacuation
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Employees went back inside the Conley Road Walmart on Thursday afternoon after spending close to two hours outside after an apparent threat was made.
The Columbia Police Department responded to a reported bomb threat at a Walmart shortly after 1 p.m., prompting a full evacuation of the store and surrounding property.
Police taped off the whole Walmart property from the public early Thursday afternoon. According to police, officers conducted a search of the building with the assistance of a K-9 unit. Nothing suspicious was found, and the store was cleared to reopen around 3:30 p.m.
Customers told ABC 17 News that customers inside the store at the time said they were shopping when an announcement came over the intercom warning of a bomb threat and instructing everyone to evacuate immediately.
Witnesses described the evacuation as calm and orderly.
Employees told ABC 17 they were told to stay on site. Even workers who weren’t scheduled to start until later still had to come in. One employee said they were told to show up in uniform and meet at a designated area outside.
As the situation stretched on, some customers arrived at the store were unaware of the closure. One shopper Miguel Rodriguez said they came to run errands, only to find the store shut down when he arrived.
On top of Thursday's threat Columbia Police Lt. Steven Kaneaster said the there have been numerous bomb threats reported across the country that could be connected to Thursday's incident.
"I was also notified of recent threats like this with other Walmart locations in other states in the country. Again, I don't know the scope of that or necessarily the full time frame. But it sounds like it might be relevant to what we're looking into here,"
Lt. Kaneaster added there was a separate bomb threat reported on university property that campus police responded to. ABC 17 has reached out to MU Police for more information.
The Columbia Police Department later posted on social media that its officers were responding to a "threat" in the 400 block of Conley Road.
Lt. Kaneaster said the store would reopen Thursday evening after officers found nothing dangerous inside.
An ABC 17 News reporter saw Walmart employees in the Firestone Tire store on Conley Road while police investigated. At least 50 people were seen in the parking.
According to Lt. Kaneaster, at least 20 officers were on the scene, along with personnel from the Ashland Police Department and Boone Health.
ABC 17 News is working to learn more information. Please check back for updates.
