Bomb squad responds to possible threat at Hollywood Casino in Aurora

A bomb squad responded to an Aurora casino Tuesday afternoon after a man allegedly made a threatening comment to an employee.

About 1:30 p.m., the man had an interaction with the employee at the Hollywood Casino at 1 W. New York St., according to Aurora police. During the conversation, the man told the employee that he parked a two-axle box truck in front of the casino, according to Illinois State Police.

The employee felt the comment was “threatening in nature” and alerted casino security, who called 911, authorities said. The Kane County sheriff’s office’s bomb squad failed to find any explosives during subsequent searches of the casino and the truck.

Officers from Aurora took the man into custody about an hour later, authorities said. Charges are pending.

As a precaution, police evacuated the casino and other businesses in the area, authorities said. The casino was reopened by 8:20 p.m.

Westbound traffic on New York was temporarily shut down at Broadway, authorities said. The stretch of roadway has since been reopened.