BOULDER, Colo. – Police officers in Boulder have given the all-clear after investigating reports of a bomb threat near the Pearl St. Mall late Thursday morning.
Boulder police, working alongside the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, the Boulder Fire Department, the Colorado State Patrol and the FBI in Denver, issued a mandatory shelter-in-place order shortly after 11 a.m., advising people in the area to shelter in place if inside a building or to evacuate the area immediately if they happened to be outside.
Shortly after, officials tweeted they had not confirmed the bomb threat on the Pearl Street Mall but were nevertheless asking people to take shelter as a precaution.
We have NOT confirmed the bomb threat on the Pearl Street Mall but are asking people to take these precautions while we check out the area and investigate. As soon as we have additional information to release we will update everyone.
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) April 8, 2021
We are currently working with multiple @boulder_fire @BldrCOSheriff @CSP_News & others to investigate a report of multiple suspicious packages in the area near Pearl & 13th #Boulder We will provide updates here & they occur pic.twitter.com/qhjcDhzIjw
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) April 8, 2021
About an hour later, at around 12:30 p.m., officials said the agencies they were working with were investigating a report of “multiple suspicious packages” in the area of Pearl and 13th Streets. Just after 1 p.m., Boulder police gave the all-clear, saying all suspicious items had been checked and were not a threat.
“Out of an abundance of caution dogs trained in explosive detection are clearing the area,” the tweet read.
All suspicious items have been checked and are not a threat. Out of an abundance of caution dogs trained in explosive detection are clearing the area. When the area is officially clear we will let everyone know.
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) April 8, 2021
During a news conference Thursday afternoon, police said a call came into the Boulder Police Department reporting that "multiple explosive devices with a remote controlled ignition" were spotted on the mall, near 13th and Pearl Streets, at around 10:30 a.m. BDP, responding to the scene, checked three items: A suitcase, a backpack and a weight for a tent. After checking those items, the all-clear was given.
In total, the shelter-in-place affected 18,000 households near the area, and 13th to 16th Streets along Pearl St. were blocked off as a precaution. Police do not know if what happened at Pearl Street Thursday was planned at this time.
The shelter-in-place was lifted just before 1:30 p.m.