Five Kroger stores in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky were evacuated on Saturday due to reported bomb threats, according to officials.
Those store locations included Newport, Bellevue, Oakley, Cold Spring, and Erlanger, all of which received reported bomb threats. Customers and employees were all evacuated and told to wait outside while the police cleared each store.
A sixth Kroger grocery store in Cincinnati was also evacuated a day later after police say the store also received a similar threat.
Police say they believe the incidents are related to the five initial stores that received threats on Saturday. All stores were eventually cleared and customers and employees were allowed back inside within two hours.
With the aid of explosive detection K9s from the Cincinnati Police Department and the Northern Kentucky University Police Department, ultimately no explosives were discovered, and police said the threats were false alarms. The departments said they believe the bomb threats to be part of a nationwide hoax that has been going on in recent months.
A Kroger spokesperson confirmed suspicious activity at Kroger stores in both cities.
“We can confirm suspicious activity at several Kroger locations,” Kroger said in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our associates and customers are our top priority. 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.
As this is an active investigation, we refer all questions to local law enforcement.”
Kroger officials are said to be working with local law enforcement and the FBI to investigate similar threats that have taken place around the country at many retail stores. Last month, multiple Hy-Vee locations received bomb threats on the same day — no actual threat was discovered in that instance either.
