Shaw's supermarkets became the focal point of a series of bomb threats today, an alarming development that spurred several police investigations across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as authorities worked to address the potential danger and reassure the public.
The situation began to unfold at the Shaw's in Cobb Corner-95 Washington Street in Canton, where the local police department received notification of a bomb threat and took to Facebook to warn residents, "Multiple Shaw's locations in the area have received similar bomb threats," a looming threat that required intervention and caution as investigators and specialists worked to ensure the safety of each location, the public was urged to stay clear of these areas until all the stores were deemed safe.
The Canton Police Department updated concerned citizens later in the afternoon that the scene had been cleared, "Thank you for your patience," providing a temporary respite in the tense hours that had begun with uncertainty and veiled danger.
But the unfolding events were not confined to Massachusetts alone, neighboring New Hampshire also found itself grappling with similar threats, where Shaw's stores in both Hooksett and North Hampton received bomb threats that demanded attention and immediate action; the police, alongside state police bomb squads, painstakingly combed through the premises of each store where in Hooksett, at the Village Shops, officers conducted a thorough search and eventually determined the threat was not credible, leading to the store's reopening shortly after noon, while the Shaw's on Lafayette Road in North Hampton underwent an evacuation as reported by WMUR-TV.
Despite the disruption and palpable tension that swept through communities affected by these threats, the diligent work of local authorities mitigated potential crises as each bomb threat was systematically deemed not credible; however all the incidents remain open investigations as details continue to surface and authorities delve further into discerning the source and motivation behind these threats.
