MARION, Ohio — A 74-year-old Marion man was arrested Wednesday and charged with swatting after police say he phoned in a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of Marion City Hall during a City Council meeting Monday evening, according to a Marion Police Department news release.
Michael Lundquist, of Marion, was arrested October 28 and transported to the Multi-County Correctional Center, the department said. The investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges are expected, according to the release, issued by Major Chris Adkins.
The threat came in at approximately 6:31 p.m. on October 26, when Marion County Central Dispatch received a 9-1-1 call from a device not connected to a cellular network, police said. During the call, a male caller reported that there was a bomb inside Marion City Hall and another bomb inside a vehicle in the City Hall parking lot. The caller also provided a false address as his location, according to the release.
Marion City Council was in session at the time the threat was made. As a result, a temporary recess was called for the meeting, and City Hall was evacuated while law enforcement officers investigated the report and searched the building, police said.
Through the course of the investigation, officers were able to identify the device used to place the bomb threat, according to the release. On October 27, investigators obtained and executed a search warrant at a residence in the 800 block of Woodrow Avenue, where officers recovered the device believed to have been used to make the threat.
Lundquist was arrested the following day and charged with swatting, the department said.
“The Marion Police Department takes all threats to public safety seriously,” the department said in the release. “False reports and swatting incidents divert emergency resources, place first responders and the public at risk, and will be thoroughly investigated.”
Photo: Marion City Hall, 233 West Center Street, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).