Rash of bomb threats plague Tennessee

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MEMPHIS, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Tennessee is the fourth state in the nation to deal with a rash of phone calls warning that bombs are about to go off in government buildings, the FBI revealed.

A spokesman for the Memphis FBI office said the agency is working with state authorities to investigate hoaxes that forced the evacuation of 30 courthouses and government buildings in Tennessee, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported Wednesday.

The threats began at Tuesday morning when a woman called the Memphis Police Department at 8:30 a.m. warning that bombs were about to go off in three downtown government buildings.

All across the state similar calls warned of bombs set to explode.

Authorities said no bombs were found in any of the buildings and no one was injured.

Similar hoaxes occurred earlier this month in Oregon, Nebraska and Washington State.

Calling in a false bomb threat can result in a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.