AUGUSTA, Ga. – Wal-Mart employees thought the soft voice phoning bomb threats might be that of a woman.
But after three evacuations over the past week, police said they traced a fourth call to an 11-year-old boy.
The fourth-grader may have been upset after store managers moved his mother to the night shift, Richmond County Sheriff’s Maj. Ken Autry said Tuesday.
The suspect – weighing about 70 pounds and less than 4 feet tall – was brought in by his mother for questioning.
“He looked like a 6-year-old,” Autry said. “He didn’t look like your typical person for making bomb threats.”
Wal-Mart spokesman Ian DeZalia said the evacuations were a major inconvenience. As for the age of the suspect: “It’s sad.”
Authorities reported the boy to juvenile authorities, but he is too young to be charged with a crime.
Next time I visit the local 24-hour grocery store, I’ll be wondering whether some kid has to go to bed at night without his parents at home.