Man Charged In Connection With Willowbrook Mall Bomb Threat: Police

WAYNE, N.J. — A man was charged with creating a false public alarm and widespread panic after he reported that six bombs had been planted throughout the Willowbrook Mall Monday night, prompting its evacuation.

Anthony Vigilante told a mall security guard shortly before 8:30 p.m. that he had allegedly found, and threw out, a handwritten note that said six bombs had been placed throughout the mall, said Detective Capt. Laurence Martin. Police did not see the alleged note.

Mall security informed the Wayne Police Department, who evacuated the entire mall within 10 minutes, Martin said.

Vigilante, 56, of East Hanover, has been charged with creating a false public alarm and widespread panic. He was in Wayne Police custody Tuesday morning pending a bail hearing in Passaic County Superior Court, police said.

Vigilante suffered a "medical episode" while authorities interviewed him and was taken to Chilton Hospital in Pompton Plains for evaluation, the captain said.

The Passaic County Sheriff's Department Bomb Squad and K-9 Unit responded, conducted a "thorough" search of the mall, which was reopened at midnight Tuesday after an all clear was given, Martin said.

During the evacuation, three unidentified people jumped on tables in the food court and shouted "black lives matter" and then fled, police said.

"This outburst was done to disrupt the orderly evacuation underway," Martin said.

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Photo: Anthony Vigilante, 56, of East Hanover — Wayne Police Department