۹ فروردین ۱۴۰۳ |۱۸ رمضان ۱۴۴۵ | Mar 28, 2024
۹۱۱ caller threatened to 'kill everyone inside' mosque during event with police presence

While police officers was inside Islamic Center giving a presentation on law enforcement, others were outside responding to a 911 caller who claimed to have a pipe bomb.

Hawzah News Agency (Texas, US) – While a group of Arlington police officers was inside the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center giving a presentation on law enforcement Saturday night, more officers were outside responding to a 911 caller who claimed to have a pipe bomb, police said.

The threat was called in about 9:30 p.m. from a blocked number, police spokesman Lt. Christopher Cook said. The caller claimed to have a bomb and threatened to "kill everyone inside" the mosque.

Patrol officers and fire investigators who deal with suspicious devices responded to the mosque, where dozens of congregants were gathered for a family-night event with Arlington police.

A search of the area determined the threat was not credible, but police are working to track down who made the call. Because it came from a blocked number, Cook said, it probably will be difficult to find the caller.

Whoever made the call could be charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony, he said.

Cook said these false reports are sometimes referred to as "swatting" because they can draw a large police response, sometimes involving SWAT units. For this call, only patrol officers responded — not SWAT, Cook said.

Video taken at the mosque shows the event appeared to continue uninterrupted. During the presentation, officers discussed what to do at a traffic stop, how to make a complaint against an officer, and the dangers of drug use.

 

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