Police comb theaters after threat to Carmike chain

[August 18, 2012]  COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) -- Movie theaters in several states were combed for explosives Friday after someone phoned in a bomb threat to the corporate headquarters of Carmike Cinemas, a spokesman for the chain said.

Carmike officials alerted the FBI after discovering the threat in a voicemail message Friday morning, said company spokesman Terrell Mayton. He said the call was placed after hours Thursday by someone claiming to work for a contractor that provides janitorial services to Carmike.

While Mayton wouldn't discuss specifics of the call, Columbus police said the person referenced the Sylvester Stallone movie, "The Expendables 2," that opened Friday.

"It sounded like a disgruntled worker," Columbus police Lt. Bill Rawn told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (http://bit.ly/Nt9lZD). He said the caller said: "`You don't pay us enough. You cut back our hours. We're not expendable. We'll show you we're not expendable.'"

Mayton said the caller outlined "some specifics to a bomb threat at certain locations," but that he did not know how many theaters were mentioned or in how many states.

Carmike owns 233 theaters in 35 states. Media outlets Friday reported police searching theaters in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and North Carolina.

No bombs were found. Most theaters were cleared to open before their first show times Friday, Mayton said.

A spokesman for the FBI in Atlanta said the agency is investigating.

Since a July shooting at a movie theater in Colorado killed 12 and injured 58, theaters nationwide have been on alert. Several people since have been arrested for disrupting movies and bringing firearms to theaters.

[Associated Press]

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