A bomb threat forced a brief evacuation of the Walmart Supercenter on Southwest Dartmouth Street in Tigard on Thursday, sending shoppers and employees out of the store near Highway 217 and Highway 99W before it reopened later in the day. Police say the threat has since passed and no arrests have been made.
A Tigard Police spokesperson said the Walmart Supercenter, store number 5935 at 7600 SW Dartmouth St, was evacuated as a precaution, according to KATU. The store's location along the busy Highway 217 and 99W corridor makes it one of Tigard's most heavily trafficked commercial sites, and it has drawn police attention before. In October 2024, the same Dartmouth Street location was the scene of a major police response after a suspect in a stolen vehicle rammed multiple cruisers and parked cars in the lot before fleeing.
As of Thursday afternoon, the outlet reported the story was still developing, and it had reached out to Walmart for further comment. No arrests have been announced in connection with the threat, and the store has since reopened to customers.
A Pattern Playing Out Nationwide
The Tigard incident echoes a broader trend playing out across the country. Law enforcement agencies in states including Illinois, Maine, and New Jersey reported a rising pattern of swatting calls and false bomb threats targeting Walmart locations through 2025 and into 2026, according to Effingham Radio. Those hoax calls have repeatedly triggered precautionary evacuations similar to what unfolded in Tigard on Thursday.
Oregon law treats false bomb threats as a serious criminal matter. Under ORS 166.023, knowingly initiating or circulating a false report of an impending explosion with intent to cause public alarm is charged as first-degree disorderly conduct, a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison and $100,000 in fines, per the Oregon State Legislature. Separately, ORS 162.375 makes initiating a false emergency report to law enforcement a Class A misdemeanor, one that requires the caller to repay the full cost of the response and investigation and carries a mandatory, non-suspendable minimum ten-day jail sentence if a SWAT or tactical unit responds.
Local Police Already Stretched Thin
The evacuation adds to what has already been a busy stretch for Tigard's police department. The department responded to 42,461 total calls for service in 2025, an increase of 2,435 calls over the prior year and an average of more than 800 community contacts per week, according to the City of Tigard. That workload has fueled ongoing local debate over police resources; in May, Tigard voters weighed a $150 million bond measure aimed at replacing aging and seismically vulnerable public safety facilities.
Thursday's evacuation was not the city's first disruption to a local business this year. In May, fire crews evacuated patrons from McMenamin's John Barleycorns pub during a morning fire, marking another instance of emergency crews clearing a commercial space with little advance warning. Tigard police also maintain a dedicated Commercial Crimes Unit and a Mental Health Response Team, specialized resources the department has used in the past for retail-area crime, including a federal grant-funded operation that led to 21 arrests and the recovery of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise at local stores.
Key questions remain unanswered. It is not yet known where the bomb threat originated, whether local or federal investigators are examining a possible connection to broader swatting networks, or whether any suspect will be identified now that the store has reopened.
