vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #605 / Crime watch / Reading article...

About 1,000 people had to be evacuated from the building of the Gorky Theater in Vladivostok on Wednesday evening after the theater’s management received a bomb threat by telephone.

The call about a bomb planted in the theater’s building was received at about 6:15 p.m. local time, shortly after the play ‘Christmas Dreams’ had begun on stage, police said.

The terrorist called four times to make sure the threat was well-comprehended, the theater’s management revealed. The management immediately called the police and everyone was promptly evacuated.

Police combed the building, searching for an explosive, for an hour and a half but did not find anything. The spectators and actors returned to the building at about 7:45 p.m. and the performance was resumed.

Police soon managed to detain a 47-year-old woman who had made the false calls. The woman, whose name is not revealed by police, works as a ticket seller for the Gorky Theater.

Police are investigating her motives to provoke a false bomb alarm. She may face up to three years in prison and a large fine if found guilty of knowingly making a false report about a terrorist act.