Teen's Bomb Threat Evacuates Cinemark in Robinson Township, Found to be Hoax

A bomb threat scribbled on toilet paper prompted the evacuation of around 600 people Monday night from the Cinemark Theater in Settlers Ridge, according to Robinson Township police. 

Authorities say a 17-year-old mentally disabled male on an afternoon field trip from Southwoods Psychiatric Hospital in the South Hills wrote the messages that turned out to be a hoax.

Scraps of toilet paper said "there is going to be a bomb at the Cinemark theater at 8:30. They are (expletive) serious." 

Robinson police Lt. Ed Krall said officers responded shortly before 8 p.m. after moviegoers found the notes and notified ushers. Management began evacuating the entire theater, he said. 

Krall said officers did a preliminary search of the theater during the evacuation and found two more threatening toilet paper notes in two separate bathrooms. 

Krall said the teen's real name and phone number were written at the bottom of the notes, which police were able to trace back to him. 

A caretaker who accompanied hospital residents to the theater told police she became suspicious of the teen and questioned him after hearing about the incident. She suspected the male because he spent an extra amount of time in the bathroom while they were at the theater, Krall said.

The teen admitted to writing the threats, police said. 

Krall said Allegheny County Police are now handling the investigation and will decide whether to file charges.

The Allegheny County Bomb Squad brought two bomb-sniffing dogs, but did not detect anything, Krall said adding that the fire department and an ambulance were placed on stand by. 

Theater attendees were handed free movie passes as they exited, WTAE reports.

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