False bomb threat called in to Orland Square Mall

A person who called in a false bomb threat Monday evening at Orland Square Mall is also suspected of making a false hostage threat in Tennessee.

Mall security got a call at 6:34 p.m. from someone who claimed there were multiple bombs throughout the mall and demanded money, according to a statement from Orland Park police. When security asked for more details about the demands and the threat, “inconsistencies in the caller’s story were immediately revealed.”

Police and mall security searched the mall, but no suspicious objects were found and the threat was determined to be a hoax, police said.

A few minutes before the call to the mall, someone called police in Nashville, Tennessee, from the same number, police said. The caller claimed he had hostages and demanded ransom money. This threat was also determined to be false.

Making false threats is a Class 3 felony punishable by two to five years in prison, police said.

Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call police at (708) 349-4111 or leave an anonymous tip at (708) 349-8477 or at crimetips@orlandpark.org.