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A man who claimed he had a bomb with him inside the Hooters restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard Thursday was just joking, but the man was arrested nonetheless.
The unidentified male suspect walked into the restaurant late Thursday afternoon and announced he had a bomb in his lunch pail, according to City News Service.
Employees and customers fled, and the Los Angeles Police Department was called to the scene. Officers arrived at around 4:45 p.m. and took the man into custody without incident.
A law enforcement source told L.A. Now the man told them: "I was just joking."
To facilitate the investigation, streets in the area were closed down for over three hours, causing traffic headaches.
Officers were still faced with the matter of the lunch pail, and called in the bomb squad to detonate the object as added precaution.
Bomb threats have abounded this week in Los Angeles, though none have proven to have been legitimate. Despite the seriousness of this week's events in Boston, hoaxsters continue to call in phony threats, and Angelenos opt to have some levity about the stories.
Bomb threat at hooters on Hollywood blvd earlier. IS NO PLACE SACRED? #displacementOfActualFear/SadnessThroughHumor
— Branden Smith (@BrandenSmith) April 19, 2013
You know it's a bad week when a bomb scare at the Hollywood Hooters doesn't make national news.
— Rebecca Metz (@TheRebeccaMetz) April 19, 2013
Tonight on NPR they reported the Hollywood Hooters had a bomb threat, making this the 1st time NPR has ever uttered the word Hooters
— Gary Clouse (@Ranselaer) April 19, 2013
Bomb threat at the Hooters in Hollywood. Disgruntled plastic surgeon?
— eric spillman (@ericspillman) April 19, 2013
