Jackson Township police: Target reopens after evacuation due to bomb threat

JACKSON TWP. − The Target store on Dressler Road NW has reopened after it was evacuated Friday afternoon as a result of someone sending a bomb threat against the store and three others to local television stations, Jackson Township police said.

The department said just after 3:15 p.m. that the township store had resumed operations after police officers, with the help of a bomb-sniffing dog from the Stark County Sheriff's office, searched the location and found no bombs.

In a statement, police said its dispatch center around 12:40 p.m. received calls from Channel 19 and Channel 5 news saying they had received bomb threats against four Target stores, including the one in Jackson Township. The message said that Target had turned its back on the LGBTQ community and that bombs had been planted in the stores.

The police did not identify the three other Ohio Target stores.

Channel 19 (WOIO) news reported the other locations as Stow, Boardman, Niles and Monaca, Pennsylvania.

The Target store on Dressler Road NW was evacuated and searched.

“We will do our due diligence to make sure everything is safe,” Jackson Township Police Chief Mark Brink said, while the store was being searched.

Target has reported that some customers have responded violently to the store chain selling LGBTQ+ merchandise in advance of Pride month.

Target said that some customers in response to the products have knocked over displays of the merchandise and angrily confronted store employees. The national store chain said in response it has removed some of the items from its stores or moved them to the back of its stores.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Target store in Jackson Township evacuated after bomb threat