Police Search Carmike Cineplexes After Bomb Threat

UPDATE: A spokesman for Carmike says a bomb was not found at the Beverly cineplex in Champaign, and the theater is open as usual. The Associated Press reports no bombs were found in a search of Carmike theaters across the country.

Cineplexes in Champaign and Decatur are among those affected by a bomb threat called into the Carmike movie theater chain.

Carmike is one of the nation’s largest theater chains, with 236 theaters in 35 states. But Champaign Police say they were told by staff at the chain’s Beverly Theater on North Prospect Avenue, that an anonymous bomb threat phoned into Carmike corporate headquarters in Columbus Georgia only threatened nine theaters, without saying if the Beverly was one of them. News reports indicate that the threats have had police searching Carmike theaters around the country.

Champaign police have evacuated employees from the Beverly Friday morning, and in the noon hour were asking people to stay away from the area while they search the building. In Decatur, police say they searched Carmike’s Strand 10 Theater Friday morning, but did not find a bomb. The theater was closed at the time.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports some Carmike theaters as well as the corporate office received the threats from callers identifying themselves as employees of a vendor used by Carmike. The newspaper says all the threats concerned the action movie “Expendables 2” which opened Friday across the nation.