Horse Palace bomb threats part of large swatting scheme

EVANSTON (WNE) — Several bomb threats that turned out to be part of a nationwide scheme were made by someone who called the Horse Palace in Evanston the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Evanston Police Department Lt. Ken Pearson said it’s a trend called “swatting,” and that there is no threat to the community based on Wednesday’s incident.

Pearson said the department suspected it was a hoax. It has been warned for months about similar schemes, but officers treated it as a viable threat until they could prove otherwise.

EPD officers and members of the Uinta County Fire Department responded around 9:10 p.m. that night after someone called six times in rapid succession stating there was an explosive device inside the Horse Palace.

“Upon initial response by the Police Department personnel, the facility was evacuated, as well as adjacent businesses,” stated an EPD press release. “A cordon was established around the affected facilities and officers went to speak with the Palace employees about the incident.”

A gas station adjacent to the Horse Palace was closed, and Pearson said the only other building within the cordon was the Lincoln Highway Tavern, which was evacuated during the two-hour incident.

EPD implemented bomb threat protocols and contacted the Summit County Sheriff’s Office for support with an explosive-detecting K-9 officer. A Summit County deputy arrived a short time later with his K-9 and conducted a sweep of the facility, and no type of explosives were detected.

Around 11 p.m. officers declared the scene safe.

This story was published on February 26, 2025.