LAYTON, Utah, Sept. 26, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A Walmart in Layton was evacuated Tuesday night and police and bomb squad units were on scene after a threat was received at about 5 p.m.
Davis County Sheriff’s deputies and bomb squad, Layton City Fire Department, and Layton Police responded to the Walmart Supercenter at 745 Hill Field Road.
Layton Police Sgt. Juan Moreno told Gephardt Daily that someone called the police dispatch center at 4:47 p.m. and said they had placed multiple explosive devices at the store. The caller indicated a time when the devices would detonate.
Several officers surrounded the area to keep people away, and Walmart’s management went into action to get everyone safely out of the building.
Moreno said there was no explosion, and a thorough search was subsequently conducted by officers, store employees and bomb-sniffing K-9s brought in from Hill Air Force Base.
No explosives were found.
A “suspicious item” was spotted outside — “in an odd place,” Moreno said — and it, too, was checked out. It wasn’t explosive and presented no danger to anyone.
Moreno said the store was released back to Walmart employees at about 7:53 p.m.
The incident is still under investigation, and it isn’t known if the threat was a foolish prank or if someone deliberately wanted to disrupt business at that location. Moreno said the motive is something detectives will be looking into as they track down the individual who called in the threat.
