Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle was cleared out late Friday morning after staff reported a bomb threat that came in just after 11 a.m. Visitors and nonessential employees were escorted off the grounds while operations staff and animal-care teams kicked emergency protocols into gear. Seattle police were alerted and officers moved into the area as officials worked to gauge how credible the threat might be.
In a message posted at 11:45 a.m. on July 3, Woodland Park Zoo said it received the threat "a few minutes after 11 a.m." and immediately began evacuating the property, according to KOMO News. "We are in contact with the Seattle Police Department and are prioritizing the safety of our staff, guests, and animals," the zoo said, adding that it would share more details as they became available.
National swatting wave has hit zoos
The evacuation in Seattle comes amid a wider run of hoax emergency calls that has forced temporary closures at zoos and aquariums around the country in recent weeks. AP News reports that the FBI has documented thousands of swatting incidents since launching a national database in 2023 and warns that these bogus calls can sap public-safety resources and put people in real danger.
What investigators in Seattle are doing
As guests waited for word on when they might return, Seattle police and zoo staff were working to track down the source of the threat while the park stayed closed, KOMO News reports. Zoo officials urged the public to stick to official channels for information and stressed that they were treating the call as a genuine emergency, even as similar reports at other facilities have later turned out to be hoaxes.
Why officials take hoax calls seriously
Law enforcement leaders say swatting calls can trigger heavily armed responses, tie up first responders and create dangerous situations for both officers and civilians. According to the FBI's 2023 year-in-review, the bureau started a nationwide tracking initiative in May 2023 to better coordinate how agencies respond to swatting incidents and to limit the potential fallout, per the FBI.
Woodland Park Zoo's website also listed the park as closed for the day and directed would-be visitors to check the zoo's official channels for any changes, according to the organization. This story will be updated as Seattle police and zoo officials release additional information.
