CINCINNATI — Six Kroger stores in the Tri-State were evacuated this weekend after multiple threats that police believe were part of a nationwide hoax.
Stores in Bellevue, Erlanger, Oakley, Cold Spring, North College Hill and Newport all received threats, investigators said.
The first stores that received threats were in Bellevue and Newport. Both stores were evacuated shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Both stores were closed for about two hours before police cleared the buildings.
Police responded to the Erlanger Kroger for another reported bomb threat around noon Saturday.
Store management at the Erlanger Kroger was seen turning vehicles away from the parking lot, and customers and employees could be seen outside in the parking lot evacuated from the store.
Bellevue and Erlanger police said they believe these threats are part of a nationwide hoax that has been going on in the past few months.
The fourth store to evacuate was the Kroger Marketplace in Oakley around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, CPD's Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said.
The store could be seen surrounded by caution tape.
CPD said nothing was found in the store and it was reopened after nearly 4 hours.
The Kroger in Cold Spring near Northern Kentucky University was also evacuated and closed for almost two hours due to a bomb threat, workers at the store said.
On Sunday, a sixth threat was reported in North College Hill.
Police responded to the North College Hill Kroger along Hamilton Avenue for a reported bomb threat around 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning, North College Hill police said.
The parking was taped off, and employees gathered at the nearby Perkins restaurant.
North College Hill police cleared the store, and employees began returning just after 11:30 a.m.
According to an incident report from the threat, the store received two threats from an anonymous man calling on the phone — one that said there was a bomb in the store and another saying someone was coming to the store with a bomb in a backpack. The report also says that the caller's voice sounded calm and had no distinct accent.
A Kroger spokesperson said they are aware of the "suspicious activity" at several Kroger locations in the Tri-State area.
"The safety and well-being of our associates and customers are our top priority," the Kroger spokesperson said. "We are working closely with local law enforcement and the FBI to investigate similar threats that have taken place around the country at many retail stores."
Kroger said their its stores are "safe and open for business."
Brendan Hall and Amanda Hudson were shopping in the Oakley Kroger with their newborn baby when an announcement came over the intercom that said they needed to evacuate.
"They said to turn off your phone, don't use your phone and please leave the store immediately," Hall said. "Leave your cart where it is. Don't try to check out, don't try to do anything. Just leave everything where it's at and leave the store immediately."
The couple said they're thankful the calls turned out to be false, but said it was still a terrifying experience.
"It's just scary, you can't even go grocery shopping anymore," said Hall. "You can't even leave your house."
Cyber security consultant James Gast said he thinks the motive behind making these bomb threats could boil down to money.
"I'm swatting a corporation. That's really what this is. I'm not really doing anything. I'm just kind of scaring you to make you think I am, but I'm really just causing you to lose money," Gast said. "How much money do you want to lose? Do you want to lose, you know, $200,000 an hour, or do you want to pay me $200,000 to stop that?"
Gast said it's also possible the people making the threats are testing the level of response from law enforcement.
"I work in cybersecurity. I see this type of stuff work out in real life. If they're testing waters, great, you know, maybe I'm lucky," he said. "But one day, it's not going to be testing the waters. One day, it's going to be legitimate."
With false threats being made at schools and stores, Gast said it's important not to become desensitized and to always take it seriously.
"We can't become complacent. That is absolutely the number one thing."
The FBI acknowledged it was involved and called the bomb threats a hoax.
The agency issued a written statement about its investigation:
"The FBI is aware of the numerous hoax bomb threat incidents wherein reports of explosive devices at area businesses were made. The FBI takes these incidents very seriously because they put innocent people at risk. Investigating hoax bomb threats drains law enforcement resources and diverts them from responding to an actual crisis. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity or individuals to law enforcement."
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