Police: Threat to Bomb Districts Was Bogus

Philadelphia police were alerted to a possible threat to three of their district headquarters on Monday.

Police spokesman Lt. John Stanford said a tipster told an officer that a social media post had detailed plans to deliver a package of explosives to the 35th District in Ogontz, the 2nd District in Northeast Philly, and the 6th District in Chinatown.

“We spoke to Homeland Security. They’ve been going through this threat and a ton of others. It’s nothing credible,” he said. “That being said, we can’t be dismissive towards these types of threats, particularly when we see some of the stuff that’s going on across the country. People feel a lot of anger right now, and we can’t just take that for granted.”

Stanford said investigators tried to track down the social media post about the supposed threat to no avail. “We’ve gotten a number of these tips,” he said. “We appreciate it. We want people to continue to alert us.”

During a brief meeting with reporters on Monday afternoon, Police Commissioner Richard Ross was asked if the department had received any serious threats. “Not right now, but that’s something we monitor all the time,” he said.

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