Bomb scare empties Towne West
BY DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle
Diana Reichuber was trying on a pair of jeans at the Buckle store at Towne West Square on Monday afternoon when the order came to evacuate the mall.
"They told me to put the jeans down and leave," said the 17-year-old. "I had to change back and get out of there. I asked what was going on and they wouldn't say."
What was going on was a bomb scare that emptied one of Wichita's biggest shopping centers on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Hundreds of mall patrons and employees had to drop what they were doing and head for exits, after a man called police at 1:33 p.m. and claimed there was a bomb in the shopping center set to detonate in 15 minutes, said police Lt. Sam Hanley.
The mall reopened about 2 ½ hours later after the deadline passed without incident and a Kansas Highway Patrol bomb-sniffing dog found nothing, officials said.
The bomb threat inconvenienced hundreds of mall shoppers, most of whom stood in the parking lot for a half-hour or more awaiting word on when they could go back inside.
It was a scary experience for Rod and Donna Gibson, who were separated from their 15-year-old son, Dalton. He was shopping in another part of the mall when the evacuation was ordered.
Dalton, who was looking to spend a Christmas gift card at Dick's Sporting Goods, said he didn't hear the order to leave right away and initially thought the evacuation was part of the day's shopping crunch.
"I saw close to 100 to 150 people coming," he said. "I seriously thought there was a big sale going on at Dick's."
Although they left from different ends of the mall, the Gibsons later found each other at their car in the parking lot.
It was a lesson in American culture for Flavia Pagnanelli, a 17-year-old exchange student from Italy.
She'd just had her hair washed and was waiting for a cut at MasterCuts when she had to evacuate, wet hair and all.
"We have enough bomb scares in Rome," she said. "Why Wichita, Kansas? Who knows? Some psycho, probably."
Hanley said police were unable to trace the call and had no solid leads on the identity of the man who called in the threat.
He said the man's voice led dispatchers to believe he was in his 20s.
As most of the shoppers made their way out of the traffic-jammed parking lot, Alan Hardesty sat on a picnic bench waiting.
"I drove 35 miles. I'm gonna stick it out," he said.
A Kingman resident, he came to Wichita on Monday to buy a Christmas present for his wife. Because of a family event Sunday, the couple had agreed to exchange their presents on Monday.
"I procrastinated," he admitted. "I waited too long."
But, he added, "I'm not in trouble yet, not until the stores close or I get home with nothing."
BY DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle
Diana Reichuber was trying on a pair of jeans at the Buckle store at Towne West Square on Monday afternoon when the order came to evacuate the mall.
"They told me to put the jeans down and leave," said the 17-year-old. "I had to change back and get out of there. I asked what was going on and they wouldn't say."
What was going on was a bomb scare that emptied one of Wichita's biggest shopping centers on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Hundreds of mall patrons and employees had to drop what they were doing and head for exits, after a man called police at 1:33 p.m. and claimed there was a bomb in the shopping center set to detonate in 15 minutes, said police Lt. Sam Hanley.
The mall reopened about 2 ½ hours later after the deadline passed without incident and a Kansas Highway Patrol bomb-sniffing dog found nothing, officials said.
The bomb threat inconvenienced hundreds of mall shoppers, most of whom stood in the parking lot for a half-hour or more awaiting word on when they could go back inside.
It was a scary experience for Rod and Donna Gibson, who were separated from their 15-year-old son, Dalton. He was shopping in another part of the mall when the evacuation was ordered.
Dalton, who was looking to spend a Christmas gift card at Dick's Sporting Goods, said he didn't hear the order to leave right away and initially thought the evacuation was part of the day's shopping crunch.
"I saw close to 100 to 150 people coming," he said. "I seriously thought there was a big sale going on at Dick's."
Although they left from different ends of the mall, the Gibsons later found each other at their car in the parking lot.
It was a lesson in American culture for Flavia Pagnanelli, a 17-year-old exchange student from Italy.
She'd just had her hair washed and was waiting for a cut at MasterCuts when she had to evacuate, wet hair and all.
"We have enough bomb scares in Rome," she said. "Why Wichita, Kansas? Who knows? Some psycho, probably."
Hanley said police were unable to trace the call and had no solid leads on the identity of the man who called in the threat.
He said the man's voice led dispatchers to believe he was in his 20s.
As most of the shoppers made their way out of the traffic-jammed parking lot, Alan Hardesty sat on a picnic bench waiting.
"I drove 35 miles. I'm gonna stick it out," he said.
A Kingman resident, he came to Wichita on Monday to buy a Christmas present for his wife. Because of a family event Sunday, the couple had agreed to exchange their presents on Monday.
"I procrastinated," he admitted. "I waited too long."
But, he added, "I'm not in trouble yet, not until the stores close or I get home with nothing."
