Law enforcement agencies from across the region were sent to Kroger locations in Bellevue, Newport, Cold Spring and Erlanger Saturday for reports of bomb threats.
A threat was also called into the Oakley location in Cincinnati, according to Cincinnati Police.
Upon receiving the calls, police forces closed the stores, evacuated the buildings and placed the areas on lockdown.
Bomb sniffing dogs on loan from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport swept the buildings in Newport and Bellevue but didn’t find anything, police confirmed to LINK nky.
Newport police officer Lt. Jeff Kohls on the scene at the Newport location said that they received a phone call at 10:31 a.m. informing them of a threat, adding that Bellevue had received a call about five minutes later. He said the threats appeared to be from the same caller.
The Kroger in Cold Spring near Northern Kentucky University was also evacuated and closed for almost two hours due to a bomb threat, workers at the store told WCPO.
The threat to the Oakley location was called in around 12:30 p.m.
LINK nky saw people re-entering the Newport Kroger about 11:50 a.m., and Newport police confirmed that the area was safe at 12:39 p.m.
“Thanks to the help of explosive detection K9’s from the Cincinnati Police Department and the Northern Kentucky University Police Department Kroger has been checked, cleared, and reopened,” the Bellevue Police Department posted on Facebook. “We believe this has been part of a nationwide hoax that has been going on in recent months.”
LINK nky has not independently corroborated that information.
The Bellevue Kroger was confirmed safe shortly thereafter at 12:46 p.m.
Then, at 1:50 p.m., a threat was called into the Erlanger Kroger location, according to Erlanger Assistant Police Chief Mike Leming.
WCPO reported that people were seen re-entering the Erlanger store just before 2:30 p.m.
A Kroger spokesperson told WCPO they are aware of the “suspicious activity” at several Kroger locations in the Tri-State area.
“The safety and well-being of our associates and customers are our top priority,” the Kroger spokesperson said. “We are working closely with local law enforcement and the FBI to investigate similar threats that have taken place around the country at many retail stores.”