Police clear out facility and nearby businesses before ruling out presence of explosive device
A Jewish community center in suburban Phoenix was temporarily evacuated after a bomb threat was phoned in on Wednesday.
The East Valley JCC in Chandler, Arizona, received the anonymous threat in the morning, Fox10 Phoenix reported.
Police arrived on the scene soon after, evacuating the facility as well as nearby businesses. In addition, access to a nearby strip mall was restricted.
In a Facebook post in the early afternoon, the JCC announced that children “are safely returning to the JCC after a bomb scare this morning. The children have been safe the entire time.”
The post thanked the Chandler police and fire departments and the municipality for their help.
In the past year, several other JCCs and Jewish institutions have been evacuated following bomb threats, including ones in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Palm Beach Gardens and Maitland, Florida; and Louisville, Kentucky.
As reported by The Times of Israel