Getting kicked out of a Boston movie theater on Tuesday did not just end with a trip to the sidewalk. Police say the ejection escalated into a full-blown bomb-threat investigation after the patron allegedly harassed a staffer, pulled out sharpened chopsticks, and then phoned in a threat. No explosives were ultimately found, but investigators say the call was traced back to a cellphone he was carrying.
According to WHDH, theater staff first called for help with a male patron who was making inappropriate comments toward a female employee. Security escorted him out of the AMC theater, where police say he produced two sharpened chopsticks and threatened a theater manager.
The scare unfolded during a summer that has already seen other high-profile threat investigations around Boston. In a separate July 9 case, Boston.com reported that a Boston man faced charges after authorities allegedly found materials that could be used to make an explosive aboard an MBTA Commuter Rail train, though police have not indicated any connection between the cases.
Police responded to the reported threat at the downtown theater and later found a man matching the suspect’s description in Downtown Crossing and at a restaurant on Washington Street. An explosion-detection canine checked him and determined he was not carrying explosives, while officers said a callback to the threat matched a cellphone found on him, according to police information reported by WHDH.
Charges And Court Appearance
Christopher McFadden, 55, is facing charges of calling in a bomb threat with serious public alarm, disturbing the peace as a subsequent offense, and an outstanding warrant. He is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court.
The charges remain allegations, and McFadden is presumed innocent unless and until prosecutors prove the case in court. The investigation tracks a familiar pattern in threat cases, where even when no device is found, police and emergency personnel must treat the call as potentially real until both the scene and the suspect are fully cleared.
