SUNBURY — A third bomb threat in two days drew dozens of officers and troopers from across the Valley to Burger King, just off Fourth Street in Sunbury.
The latest bomb threat came around noon Sunday at Burger King. The four-block area of North 4th and North 5th streets from Market to Race streets and all roads in between that area were closed off for about an hour, following Saturday’s threats that came in at around 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunbury Acting Police Chief Travis Bremigen said officers are actively investigating the incidents.
Sunday’s threat was cleared by about 1 p.m., Bremigen said.
A shelter-in-place warning issued in the four-block area was lifted Sunday morning, and Bremigen said police have all units investigating the credible threats toward police and residents.
Bremigen said a suspect threatened to shoot police and made two bomb threats to Burger King. The threats to authorities were considered credible, Bremigen said.
On Sunday, Bremigen said the shelter-in-place order was lifted and police are continuing to follow up on leads they received through the night.
A bomb-detecting dog from Geisinger Medical Center, in Danville, arrived in Sunbury twice on Saturday and once on Sunday to clear the area of any explosives.
After the second threat, Public Safety Alerts were issued through the county’s emergency broadcast system after 7 p.m. “The Sunbury Police Department is requesting all residents within four blocks of the Burger King located at 60 North 4th Street to shelter in place,” it read.
The first bomb threat — a bomb under the Burger King on North 4th Street in the city at just after 1 p.m. — forced the closure of multiple streets in the vicinity of North 4th and North 5th streets from Market to Race streets and all roads in between that area. The initial shelter-in-place warning was lifted within approximately 30 minutes.
“Officers completed a search of the area and an evacuation,” Bremigen said. The evacuation included the restaurant, the 7-Eleven gas station next door and the Sunbury Market House.
While officers investigated the first threat they were notified of a phone call from someone “reporting that he had the drug fentanyl and will throw fentanyl in the face of any police” and that they had a gun,” Bremigen said.
Police received a third call informing them that the male had just shot someone, Bremigen said.
The second bomb threat at Burger King came just hours later, forcing police to again shut down streets, order evacuations and issue shelter-in-place warnings.
Police returned to the scene, along with emergency responders and a bomb-sniffing dog, which again completed the search of the area.
Bremigen said anyone with information is asked to call Sunbury police or Northumberland County 911.
Sunbury Mayor Josh Brosious said on Sunday he was made aware of the situation throughout the day Saturday.
“Our police department responded quickly and evacuated the area,” Brosious said. “I thank all the other departments and agencies that responded. I have given full authority with any and all resources to catch the individual responsible for these acts.”
Sunbury police were assisted during the incidents by officers from Northumberland, Lewisburg, Selinsgrove and Shamokin Dam boroughs, Point Township, state police troopers from selinsgrove and Stonignton, Geisinger’s K-9, the Northumberland County District Attorney’s Office, Assistant District Attorney David Albertson, Sunbury Fire Department, Sunbury Fire Police and the Northumberland County Emergency Management Agency.