False Alarm
Wal-Mart evacuated after bomb threat overheard

Gallup Police Officer Lorenzo Guerrero blocks off an entrance to Wal-Mart after a bomb threat was received Monday evening. Police evacuated employees and customers for about a hour as they searched the store. No explosive device was found. [Photo by Julie Peña/Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Wal-Mart employees ushered their late-night shoppers from the store after a bomb threat was intercepted through employees' two-way radios.

Detective Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department, said Wal-Mart officials contacted Metropolitan Dispatch at about 8:15 p.m. after employees heard a bomb threat transmitted through their radios; however, it was not known whether the voice belonged to a male or female, she said.

"They were picking the threat up through their Wal-Mart frequency," Toadlena-Pablo said.

The person said the bomb would detonate at 10 p.m. But when 10 p.m. arrived, no detonation occurred.

Wal-Mart employees gathered in a nearby parking lot where assistant manager Mike Lemon thanked them for their cooperation and understanding during the store's evacuation. Employees were encouraged to remain in the parking lot's southern-most boundary until law enforcement did a sweep of the store.

Gallup police officers parked their units in front of the store's main entrance and fastened yellow caution tape to the red poles that guarded the doors. One officer repeatedly informed anxious shoppers the store was closed.

Meanwhile, patrolman Lorenzo Guerrero escorted his bomb-sniffing dog through the store to determine whether the threat was valid.

Employees said they were initially informed a power outage was going to occur at 9:30 p.m. and were instructed to assist in the evacuation.

Employees were allowed to re-enter the store at about 10:30 p.m.

This is the second bomb threat in the area in less than a week. On Thursday, a female caller told University of New Mexico-Gallup officials there was a bomb on campus, forcing the evacuation of some 1,300 students, staff and faculty. No bomb was found.