Bomb scare leaves mess of confusion

There was only one threatening call, not three.

By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer
Published August 31, 2007

If the events of Wednesday's reported bomb threats have left you confused, rest assured:

You are so not alone.

Here, courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, are some important corrections from the "official" version it first gave the Pasco Times:

First, there was only one threat. It was made against the Emergency Operations Center and the Information Technology Center in New Port Richey. The building was evacuated, searched and cleared.

Second, the David "Hap" Clark Jr. Building off U.S. 41 in Land O'Lakes was not evacuated. Nor was any bomb threat ever made against it.

Third, the West Pasco Judicial Center didn't have to be evacuated at all. No bomb threat was ever made to that building. Everyone who stood outside for more than an hour in the heat? Sorry about that.

Here's what the Sheriff's Office said really, really happened:

A woman reported receiving a strange text message at 2:04 a.m. Wednesday. But she didn't remember to show it to someone official until the afternoon. A deputy determined there was no threat. The message was an ad from a company warning that "STCKS" or "stocks" are "POISED TO EXPLODE."

But while that was being investigated, the Sheriff's Office said, the real bomb threat - to the Emergency Center - was being made via the county's main government line at 12:58 p.m.

"There is a bomb in the building, it's in a crawl space," the male caller said. "Tell everyone to get out." The operator told her boss and the Sheriff's Office.

Then an evacuation was announced via the PA system - only it was the one in the courthouse.

"Due to crossed phone lines," the report said, the evacuation order was accidentally heard in the West Pasco Judicial Center, emptying the courthouse.

Got a tip?

Anyone with information about the threat is asked to call the Pasco County Sheriff's Office Crime Tips Line at 1-800-706-2488.

[Last modified August 30, 2007, 22:04:32]