Bomb Threat Temporarily Shuts Down Vineyard Airport

WEST TISBURY — Martha's Vineyard Airport was shut down for several hours Tuesday morning after a bomb threat.

"Martha's Vineyard Airport has reopened and resumed normal operation after a reported threat earlier this morning," Massachusetts State Police wrote in a tweet at around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

A sweep of the airport by state police — including a K-9 unit — and local agencies found nothing hazardous, the tweet says.

"As far as I know, it was probably a hoax, I believe," Trooper James DeAngelis said.

An 8:04 a.m. post on the airport's Facebook page announced that the facility had closed because of a security emergency. Another post just after 9:30 a.m. stated that the airport had reopened.

The threat was received at about 6 a.m., according to Assistant Airport Manager Geoffrey Freeman. As of 9 a.m., West Tisbury, Edgartown and state police remained at the scene investigating, Freeman said.

"It was a phoned-in threat to the airport," he said.

Another airport official who answered the phone at about 9:50 a.m. confirmed that the airport had reopened but declined to answer additional questions.

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