Durham Main Library evacuated due to bomb threat just before LGBTQ story hour

The Durham County Main Library was evacuated Saturday morning after receiving an anonymous bomb threat just before a story hour hosted by an LGBTQ organization was set to begin.

Durham police responded to the reported bomb threat at around 10:30 a.m.

DPD officers and the Durham County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb dog searched the building but found nothing on the premises. They said the threat remains under investigation.

The library will be closed for the remainder of the weekend and reopen on Monday, the library said on X, formerly Twitter.

A “Rainbow Story Time” event hosted by a local LGBTQ advocacy organization, Rainbow Collective for Change, was canceled due to the threat.

The library’s director, Tammy Baggett, told The News & Observer that the threat, which was sent to a Charlotte TV station, specifically mentioned the author whose book was to be read during Rainbow Story Time.

The station, WBTV, received an email threatening the Durham library just before 10 a.m.

Baggett said the library itself did not receive a direct threat via phone call or email, but was informed of the threat by Durham police.

Durham police have not noted a motive for the threat or provided details about its contents.

Impact on LGBTQ story time

“People are trying to scare us,” Anne Sutkowi-Hemstreet, the Rainbow Collective’s director, told The N&O.

She said staff members and local high school students were already set to begin the story time when the evacuation began.

They were planning to read “Call Me Tree,” a book by Maya Christine Gonzalez that features gender-neutral characters. Afterwards, they were going to plant seeds and paint pots with attendees.

The Rainbow Story Time events are held once a month and feature LGBTQ books read in English and Spanish with ASL interpretation.

Sutkowi-Hemstreet said the Rainbow Collective has never experienced a threat like this before during one of its events.

“There are lots of families who may not come to our events because they’re feeling scared,” she said. “...But we will keep doing what we need to do to make sure that our spaces are safe and affirming.”

Baggett said the threat will not change the library’s programming.

“We are not to be defeated by things of this nature,” she said. “We are here for all people and I plan on us continuing to offer programs of that nature and other programs that are needed in the community.”

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.