♣Tuesday, March 17, 2026 |
Photo – A Walmart store – Bigfoot99 file photo
A Casper Walmart received a phony bomb threat over the weekend.
At 7:35 p.m., Sunday evening, the Casper Police Department announced that officers were responding to a reported bomb threat at the Walmart Supercenter on the east side of the city. Casper‑Natrona County Public Safety Communications Center Public Information Officer Rebekah Ladd told Bigfoot99 that the unified dispatch center received a short phone call from an individual claiming to have placed a bomb in the Walmart Supercenter on CY Avenue. Despite the limited information, Ladd said officers from the Casper Police Department treated the threat as credible and evacuated the building.
Ladd said that over the course of an hour, specialized bomb-disposal units from the Casper Police Department and Natrona County Sheriff’s Office used bomb‑sniffing dogs to clear the building, parking lot, and surrounding area. After officers determined that the threat was unfounded, the Walmart was allowed to reopen.
Around the same time, Casper police were notified that a similar event had occurred at a Pierre, South Dakota, Walmart. Four additional Walmart stores in Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan, and California received bomb threats within the past week. Ladd said despite the nationwide parallels, Natrona County law enforcement handled the report as credible.
In December, the Rawlins Walmart was evacuated after authorities received a call from an unidentified person claiming to have hidden three explosive devices inside the store. Officers thoroughly searched the building, including the restroom area specifically mentioned by the caller. After finding nothing, employees were permitted to return to work.
The following month, someone using a robotic voice changer claimed to have left bombs in the Saratoga and Hanna schools and threatened to shoot any students who left the buildings. Thirteen other Wyoming schools, including those in Washakie, Teton, and Laramie counties, received similar threats around the same time.
Public Information Officer Ladd said every incident is reported to federal authorities to help identify any connections between the cases.
Casper authorities thanked the public for their patience and cooperation while emergency personnel investigated Sunday’s Walmart bomb threat.
