UPDATE: Investigation Into Walmart Bomb Threat Continues
Laramie Police Department Lt. Gwen Smith said the bomb threat made against the Laramie Walmart yesterday came from the same phone number as a similar threat made against the Walmart in Rock Springs.
Smith said the LPD got the call from the Laramie Walmart saying they had received a bomb threat at 12:55 p.m. Sunday. The building was evacuated and the University of Wyoming Police Department bomb dog did a sweep of the building and the building was determined to be safe. The building was evacuated for just over an hour. The LPD, the Albany County Sheriff's Department, UWPD and the Laramie Fire Department all responded to the threat.
Smith said the LPD dispatch received information about another threat in Rock Springs that had happened at about the same time. Smith said the Rock Springs PD tracked the number used to make the threat to a Rock Springs phone.
However, Smith said the call had been “spoofed,” which means the call appeared to come from a different number than what actually made the call. Smith said the calls were automated. The Rock Springs PD is continuing the investigation into the matter.
Smith said that the Laramie PD had gotten word of at least nine other similar threats across the state, but that these were not confirmed by the LPD.