City police respond to shooting threat at River Valley Mall Monday morning

Jeff Barron, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette

LANCASTER − The River Valley Mall closed Monday after someone threatened to shoot the mall up, city police said.

The caller then called back and said he was joking. Police said a reverse check of the phone number returned it a man in McArthur in Vinton County. A police report shows no record of an arrest yet and police reported no injuries from the incident.

City police responded to a shooting threat Monday at the River Valley Mall. Police officers reported no suspicious activity once they arrived.
City police responded to a shooting threat Monday at the River Valley Mall. Police officers reported no suspicious activity once they arrived.

Four police officers responded to threat that occurred just after 10:30 a.m. and found no suspicious activity. Police said the department received multiple calls from surrounding businesses asking what precautions they should take.

Police contacted the Vinton County Sheriff's Office and that department said it had no history with the phone number or the man it's listed under. But it later said deputies had possibly identified a suspect.

There was a notice on the mall website saying it would be closed the rest of Monday and would reopen Tuesday at 10 a.m. Police said the mall closed as a precautionary measure.

The incident is under investigation.

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter/X: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: City police respond to shooting threat at River Valley Mall Monday

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