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A bomb threat called in to the Stanford Shopping Center on Wednesday prompted Palo Alto police to sweep the area in search of any explosives with the help of a K-9. The preliminary investigation turned up nothing.
The threat was called in to the shopping center’s management office at around 10:15 a.m., police said. The mall is located at 180 El Camino Real between Sand Hill and Quarry roads, adjacent to Stanford University.
Officers and mall security team members were sent across the mall with a police K-9 to look for explosives, according to the Police Department. At that point, most stores weren’t open for business.
The police sweep was wrapped up as of 11:30 a.m. with no bomb found, police said. Mall operations appeared to be normal at that point. Shoppers were popping into stores, people were eating at outdoor tables and delivery drivers were dropping off packages. Several police cars were in the process of leaving the area.
The Police Department planned to increase patrols in the area due to the called-in threat. The caller was a man; the agency didn’t provide further details on the suspect’s description.
The public was advised to avoid the area during the investigation. No evacuations or lockdowns were ordered.
Anyone with information about the threat is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
