EVANSTON — Several bomb threats that turned out to be part of a nationwide scheme were made by someone who called the Horse Palace in Evanston the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Evanston Police Department Lt. Ken Pearson said it’s a trend called “swatting,” and that there is no threat to the community based on Wednesday’s incident. The act is called “swatting” because those on the other line are trying to cause a large scene with SWAT teams arriving, in some instances.

Pearson said they suspected it was a hoax, and the department has been warned for months about similar schemes, but officers treated it as a viable threat until they could prove otherwise.

EPD officers and members of the Uinta County Fire Department responded around 9:10 p.m. that night after someone called six times in rapid succession stating there was an explosive device inside the Horse Palace.

“Upon initial response by the Police Department personnel, the facility was evacuated, as well as adjacent businesses,” states an EPD press release. “A cordon was established around the affected facilities and officers went to speak with the Palace employees about the incident.”

A gas station adjacent to the Horse Palace was closed, and Pearson said the only other building within the cordon was the Lincoln Highway Tavern, which evacuated during the two-hour incident.

EPD implemented bomb threat protocols, and contacted the Summit County Sheriff’s Office for support with an explosive-detecting K-9 officer. A Summit County deputy arrived a short time later with his K-9 and conducted a sweep of the facility and no type of explosives were detected.

Around 11 p.m., Pearson said, officers declared the scene safe, and things were back to normal fairly quickly. The biggest delay was waiting for the Summit County deputy to arrive from Coalville, Utah. 

Pearson told the Herald that the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) confirmed the phone number linked to the Evanston bomb threat was part of a swatting scheme and DCI had 284 pages worth of related calls and texts in just three days.

EPD thanked all those involved in the situation for their cooperation in the press release.