MADISON, Jan 28 —Officers in three local police departments were busy today – responding to not one, but two bomb threats called in two local 7-Eleven convenience stores.
Police evacuated buildings and blocked off streets on the UW-Madison campus for several hours this afternoon in response to the first alleged bomb threat, made to the clerk of a State Street 7-Eleven. A WiscAlert notification was sent to the members of the UW-Madison campus community shortly after noon, alerting them to avoid the intersection of Lake and State streets.
One officer described the clerk’s experience over the police scanner in the 12 o’clock hour today.
“Specifically, a male called in identifying himself as a member of a security company. He said specifically ‘get out of the store, there is a pipe bomb on the side of the 7-Eleven by the alley. That male then started to talk to somebody else in the background. The clerk asked him who he was. He again said he was with a security company and to get out of the store. At that point, the clerk hung up and started getting customers out of the hours,” read the officer over a live police scanner.
UW-Madison, Capitol, and Madison Police officers closed off the block around the intersection, and evacuated nearby buildings, including Memorial Library, the UW-Extension Building, and several apartment complexes.
Police say another 7-Eleven at 2201 S Park Street near the Beltline received a similar threat less than an hour later, as police were still investigating State Street threat.
A sweep by the Madison Police Department K9 unit at both locations, and an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) at the second location, did not detect any devices or suspicious items.
Both locations received an all clear this afternoon. An investigation is ongoing into both threats.
Madison Police Department spokesman Tyler Grigg writes in an incident report that other area 7-Eleven stores have been notified out of an abundance of caution.
