COWETA, Okla. -- A Walmart in Coweta was briefly evacuated after a bomb threat Friday afternoon, according to the Wagoner County Sheriff's Office.
The Walmart has since been reopened. Authorities say the store received the bomb threat around 1:30. The caller reportedly said the bomb would go off in 10 minutes.
I'm told there was a bomb threat at the Walmart in Coweta. Shoppers were evacuated. Deputies had the parking lot perimeter blocked off. pic.twitter.com/DBmiiX2aRz
— Mycah Hatfield KJRH (@MycahHatfield) August 11, 2017
It took about 15 minutes to evacuate the store. Coweta Police Chief Mike Bell said workers looked through the store with the help of police for anything suspicious looking.
A short while later, police determined that there was no bomb inside the store. The Wagoner County Sheriff's Office, Coweta Police and fire crews were all on scene.
Chief Bell said they are working with another law enforcement agency to determine who the caller was. They started out by asking employees if there had been any incidents at the store recently.
"I asked if she recognized the voice," Chief Bell said. "Have they fired any employees recently? How many arrests have we had here in the last couple of days at this Walmart. We also look at the fact, was there any customers who came in in the last couple days that might be mad because you didn't exchange something for them."
Police said sometimes these calls come in from foreign countries or people dial a random Walmart phone number and do not know which store they are calling.
Chief Bell said this is a federal offense.
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