Police Make Bomb Threat Arrest in Indiana

When the caller spun a tale of an airport threatened by a bomb and a masked man, armed police arrived to search for explosives that weren't there, officials said.

What they did find, about an hour and a half after the threatening call, was the man they believe is behind it -- a 44-year-old South Bend resident whom they promptly arrested -- police said.

Officers tracked down the man after working with a cell phone company to locate the area where he called from, quickly ending a situation that had one passer-by shaking his head.

"It's hard to believe that would take place in South Bend, Indiana," said Doug Parsons of South Bend, who was at South Bend Regional Airport to help see his mother-in-law off on her post-Thanksgiving flight home.

"It's a shame that you've got to have these prank-type situations," he said. "But when you don't take them seriously, that's when you're most vulnerable."

Police arrested the alleged caller without incident shortly after 10 a.m. at a home in the 2400 block of Fillmore Road.

The move came after officers pinpointed the area where the bomb call originated, along with three other calls containing false information that the man allegedly made to police.

An officer then drove down Fillmore Road, spotted a man talking outside on a cell phone, talked to him and discovered that he had made the calls, police said, adding that the man didn't have explosives on him.

"I think that's fantastic," John Schalliol, the airport's executive director, said afterward. "I just want to thank the people that were involved. They handled things very efficiently and effectively."

The South Bend Police Department provided a bomb-sniffing dog to help search after the caller said there was a bomb in the airport's bus station, as well as a masked man who had something in his hand, officials said.

The response included officers from the South Bend and St. Joseph County police departments, along with the airport's own police department, said Daryn Frank, the Transportation Security Administration's assistant federal security director in South Bend.

"Calls are taken seriously," he said, adding that the response didn't delay flights or regular passenger security screenings. "We take everything seriously."

That was a point Schalliol emphasized in describing the bomb threat.

"It's not a prank," he said. "It's a crime."

Tribune staff writer Mary Kate Malone contributed to this report.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.