As everyone goes home for the holiday's, nostalgia seeps in. You are back at your old house, by your old school, your old town. People are running from place to place, Christmas shopping, running errands, visiting friends and family. You go to your local mall, go ice skating or even to the movies. The last thing you expect to hear? That your local movie theater has not one, but two bomb threats in the same week.
Often, we are far too detached from the (many) recent threats of bombs and shootings that have been taking place. We always think, oh that is terrible but that would never happen here. Not in our quaint little town. Well, think again.
My first day home this week, all over the news, "Local AMC Movie Theater of Freehold Evacuated for Bomb Threat." A few days later, the same thing again. Apparently, there were notes found in the men's bathroom that mentioned a bombing were to take place. Many were watching the very popular new Star Wars movie, most with family, when they said, the screen went dark. An employee came into the theater and told them everyone must leave the theater and evacuate outside. It was said that this was all done in an orderly fashion with no panic, thankfully. After authorities searched the entire theater, nothing was found.
Only a few months ago in June, a similar situation occurred at the Freehold Raceway Mall, right across the parking lot.
"A bomb threat has prompted the evacuation at the Freehold Raceway mall moments ago, sources on scene tell TLS. The incident comes just one week after the Ocean County Mall was evacuated due to a similar threat" according to, TheLakewoodScoop.com.
Luckily, none of these threats ended in any real bombs. However, there are still many problems that we are left with in these type of situations. Will the "boy who cried wolf" phenomena occur? Will we be so desensitized by these false claims that when the time comes, no one will listen? Is that what these people want, or is it simply nothing more than that, a hoax?
