County Courthouse Evacuated Due To Bomb Threat, Prosecutor Confirms

The Ocean County Courthouse was evacuated Monday afternoon after a call reporting a bomb was received, the county prosecutor’s office has confirmed.

A call reporting a bomb in the building was received in the court administrator’s office about 1:30 p.m., said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

The building on Washington Street in downtown Toms River was searched and cleared for employees to return to work by 3 p.m., he said.

The threat initially was reported by The Lakewood Scoop reported on its website and the Ocean County Police Blotter Facebook page.

It is the most recent in a string of threats locally and throughout the state. The Ocean County Mall was the subject of a bomb threat 10 days ago that resulted in the evacuation of the mall, and then the subject of a copycat call three days later. Showander Descarte of Manchester has been charged in the copycat episode, which occurred May 30, authorities have said. She has said she is innocent and that she loaned her phone to a stranger the night of the threat.

Freehold Raceway Mall and Monmouth Mall in Eatontown also have been the subject of bomb threats in recent days.