Pine Ridge Mall given all clear after suspicious call

Police completed their search of Pine Ridge Mall and gave the all clear around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday after spending more than an hour combing the mall for a bomb.

Shoppers and employees were evacuated from the mall at around 6:45 p.m. after Chubbuck Police say mall security received a suspicious phone call at 6:10 p.m. Police tell Local News 8 the security guard thought he heard the word “bomb.”

“He said it was so indistinct that it was either a disguised voice or an automated voice and it kept cutting out,” said Chubbuck Police Chief Randy Severe.

Members of the Chubbuck Police Department, Chubbuck Fire Department and Bannock County Sheriff’s Office were stationed at all entrances to the mall while they searched for a bomb.

Nothing out of the ordinary was found and the building was given the all clear.

Mall employees tell Local News 8 the evacuation went smoothly.

“Everybody got out in a fashionable order. There was not much panic, which was awesome,” said Jazmin Cluff, who works in the JC Penney.

Police are still investigating whence the suspicious phone call originated, but Severe said it appeared to come from within the mall. He said it’s possible the caller was using technology to mask his or her true phone number.

This is the second bomb threat this week. Monday the Bannock County Courthouse also had to be evacuated after police learned of a phone call referencing a bomb. Police said they have no evidence linking the two threats.

Anyone who has information regarding this case is encouraged to call Chubbuck Police at 237-7172.

The mall will reopen Thursday for regular business.