KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Police arrested a man Thursday who is accused of threatening News Channel 3 (WWMT) saying he had a bomb, according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
KDPS says a 36-year-old man from Greenville forced his way into the news station Thursday afternoon. WWMT employees claim the man told them that he had a bomb in his backpack and "was not afraid to die."
About 20 employees evacuated around 2 p.m., according to WWMT.
KDPS officers, along with bomb techs and special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Grand Rapids field office responded to the threat.
WWMT sent out an updated tweet just after 4:15 p.m. Thursday saying that officers were negotiating with the man inside the building.
The man came out with his hands up a short while later and police were able to arrest him peacefully.
Investigators searched the building for explosives and did not find any— instead, they say they found an iPhone charger and wires.
FOX 17 talked with WWMT's Assistant News Director Jon McCrary who credited an employee for following the right protocol and getting everyone to safety as quickly as possible.
"Our chief engineer...met him at the door and he was able to push his way into our lobby. Fortunately, our security measures paid off. [The] chief engineer rushed for the door and bolted it...and got it shut. Then we called the police. And during that time, he ran around, grabbed a couple of other engineers and ran around and got everybody out of the building," McCrary explained. "We cleared the building in less than a couple of minutes so...we're very, very fortunate that nothing happened and that all of our staff is safe and sound. So that is, like, our first and foremost goal, you know, we protect our people and make sure that they're safe and that's exactly what happened. We got them out and got them cleared and everybody's safe."
Maple Street Magnet School for the Arts, which is near WWMT's building, was not evacuated because of the bomb threat.
KDPS said typically, the department would shut down the school if investigators were unsure of where the threat was; however, in this case, KDPS believed the threat was localized and the school was far enough away. KDPS added that officers knew the location of the man, who's accused of making the threat, the entire time so they did not believe students or staff were in danger.
