Russell Police Department
On Sunday around 4:44 p.m., Russell County Dispatch received a phone call from a male subject claiming to be in the bathroom at the Russell McDonald’s, 1435 S. Fossil, with a bomb and a gun.
He stated he was going to “blow the place up.”
Russell Police Department officers and Russell County Sheriff’s deputies responded and a quick visual inspection of the immediate area around and inside the McDonald’s, while simultaneously evacuating staff and patrons.
The immediate area around McDonald’s was cordoned off and secured.
Assistance was requested from the Kansas Highway Patrol and Russell County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group.
Russell County EMS and the City of Russell Fire Department were also placed on standby. Around 6:24 p.m., a team from the SOG deployed in the McDonald’s parking lot and began to visually inspect the exterior of the building.
The team then deployed a robot inside McDonald’s to clear the interior of the building, revealing nothing suspicious.
After the robot was brought back outside, an entry team deployed into the restaurant for a more thorough search. The search revealed no persons or suspicious devices. K9 units from the Kansas Highway Patrol did a final search of the building, revealing nothing suspicious.
At this time the investigation is continuing, however police believe this may be a “swatting” call.
A “swatting” call is a prank phone call placed to a dispatch center to elicit a SWAT team or heavy police response.
If you have further information regarding this call, contact the Russell Police Department and ask to speak with Officer Scott McAdoo.
We would like to the assisting agencies and public for their cooperation.
Editor's note: This incident is separate from the standoff in Russell reported Monday.