Another bomb threat was phoned in to Milwaukee Electric Tool on Thursday, and the main building was evacuated for the second time in as many days.
Greenwood police received a call from the plant manager at around 1:30 on Thursday. Police, a Greenwood Fire Department truck and Leflore County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Fred Randle responded to the scene at 1003 Sycamore Ave.
Police Chief Ray Moore said it took a little over an hour for Randle and the county’s bomb-sniffing dog to walk through the building checking for explosives.
None were found.
Employees were evacuated from the building, but the parking lot at the plant was not evacuated as it had been on Wednesday when the first bomb threat was called in.
Assistant Fire Chief John Lewis said firefighters stood by while the building was cleared and spent about an hour and 13 minutes at the scene.
Moore would not comment on whether the caller of this threat was believed to be the same person who called in a bomb threat Wednesday.
“We’re holding our cards real close to the vest on this one, and we’re not going to give any perpetrator an idea of what we know and don’t know at this point,” Moore said.
Randle said he and Homeland Security are investigating and trying to track down the identity of the caller. The Leflore County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday brought a former employee of Milwaukee Tool in for questioning in the investigation, but Randle said that person is not considered a suspect.
Mayor Carolyn McAdams went to Milwaukee Tool on Thursday to offer her support to the plant manager, Jack Bilotta.
“Sometimes employees get upset and these things happen,” McAdams said. “You just hate it.
“We’re just glad we have law enforcement who can respond to the situation in a calm manner and take care of things, as they did on Wednesday and Thursday.”
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
