READING – Town Manager Matt Kraunelis and Police Chief David Clark and Fire Chief Gregory Burns would like to provide the following update regarding this morning’s bomb threat.
Reading Police and Reading Fire with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad, Salem Police and Endicott College Police, conducted a thorough search of the Reading Public Library and Reading Town Hall and determined the threat was unfounded and there was no danger to the public. The library will reopen for normal business hours this afternoon.
The incident remains under investigation, but immediate indications are that the threat was an attempt to disrupt a Pride event being held at the library, based on the email threat containing a thinly veiled reference to the event which was scheduled to begin minutes after the threat was received. A similar threat was received in another community earlier in the week, according to law enforcement.
Reading Police are actively investigating this incident as biased motivated crime.
“The Town of Reading condemns acts of violence, disruption and hate within our community and against our citizens. Everyone deserves to feel safe in Reading,” Town Manager Kraunelis said. “Our community is built on and strives toward inclusivity for all, and instances such as these will not be tolerated.”
“I would like to thank our mutual aid partners and the State Police bomb squad, the Salem Police Department K9, and Endicott College Police Department K9, for their assistance in this incident and working with us to keep our community safe,” said Chief Clark. “We will bring the full power of our agency to bear on the investigation. Threatening violence and harm to others will not be tolerated in Reading. We will not be silent on these matters, and our neighbors will not be intimidated.”
