(March 12, 2015) A bomb scare emptied parts of downtown Berlin on Friday evening after an anonymous caller told Berlin police 10 homemade explosives were set to detonate near the first block of Main Street.
According to the Berlin Police Department, the call came at approximately 6 p.m., with the caller warning the bombs were set to explode in three hours.
No specific locations were named, but three businesses, Rayne’s Reef, the Globe and the Atlantic Hotel, were ordered evacuated by police. One residence was also evacuated.
Rayne’s Reef Owner Michael Queen said police phoned him about the threat at approximately 7 p.m.
“They just called me and told me there was a threat and that they needed to evacuate the area,” he said.
Queen said he handled the evacuation of the roughly 20 customers in the restaurant at the time by himself.
“A lot of people were finished eating already and they were just hanging out. They were kind of like, ‘Oh, okay,’” Queen said.
Following the evacuation, the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office K-9 team used a bomb-sniffing dog to search the area, but no explosives were found.
Rayne’s Reef did not reopen after the area was cleared.
The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident. TFC Richard Kiedel said the agency is examining records from phone companies and Internet providers in case the call came through the web.
“It just take a little bit of time, but the investigation is still ongoing,” Kiedel said. “Now we’re going through backlog into different companies to try and find out where the number came from.”
Kiedel said the likelihood of finding a suspect was “just like any case” and admitted the agency does occasionally receive threats of this nature.
“As you see on the news, it happens throughout the entire country, it just was unfortunate that it happened to happen in our area,” he said. “Everyone takes it seriously until we can confirm or deny that the threat was plausible. We take all appropriate steps to make sure that everyone is evacuated and [safety] is paramount until we can confirm or deny.”
To report a tip to the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, call 410-632-1111.
According to the Berlin Police Department, the call came at approximately 6 p.m., with the caller warning the bombs were set to explode in three hours.
No specific locations were named, but three businesses, Rayne’s Reef, the Globe and the Atlantic Hotel, were ordered evacuated by police. One residence was also evacuated.
Rayne’s Reef Owner Michael Queen said police phoned him about the threat at approximately 7 p.m.
“They just called me and told me there was a threat and that they needed to evacuate the area,” he said.
Queen said he handled the evacuation of the roughly 20 customers in the restaurant at the time by himself.
“A lot of people were finished eating already and they were just hanging out. They were kind of like, ‘Oh, okay,’” Queen said.
Following the evacuation, the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office K-9 team used a bomb-sniffing dog to search the area, but no explosives were found.
Rayne’s Reef did not reopen after the area was cleared.
The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident. TFC Richard Kiedel said the agency is examining records from phone companies and Internet providers in case the call came through the web.
“It just take a little bit of time, but the investigation is still ongoing,” Kiedel said. “Now we’re going through backlog into different companies to try and find out where the number came from.”
Kiedel said the likelihood of finding a suspect was “just like any case” and admitted the agency does occasionally receive threats of this nature.
“As you see on the news, it happens throughout the entire country, it just was unfortunate that it happened to happen in our area,” he said. “Everyone takes it seriously until we can confirm or deny that the threat was plausible. We take all appropriate steps to make sure that everyone is evacuated and [safety] is paramount until we can confirm or deny.”
To report a tip to the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, call 410-632-1111.