Caller threatens grocery store

An anonymous caller made a bomb threat against a grocery store, demanding that the store wire money to his bank account and ordering everyone in the store to disrobe. No one was injured and no money was paid, police said.

The threat to the Dillons store appeared related to recent calls targeting banks and stores in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Utah, FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said Wednesday.

Some people in the Hutchinson store did take off their clothes Tuesday before police safely led the 46 employees and 64 customers out of the store after about 90 minutes. Threatening calls also were made to a second Dillons store in Hutchinson, and it was evacuated without incident.

A bomb threat Tuesday in Newport, R.I., led to the evacuation of a Wal-Mart, where employees wired $10,000 to the caller, authorities said.

And in Arizona, a bomb threat Tuesday forced the evacuation of a Safeway in Prescott, about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

"We are aware of other similar incidents with bomb threats at Safeway stores nationwide," FBI Special Agent Deborah McCarley told The Arizona Republic. "We are looking into whether they are connected."

Kolko said the bureau was reviewing whether the calls were being placed from overseas and looking for similarities between the cases.

Authorities said the caller to the Hutchinson store appeared to have visual access to the store, although officials were investigating whether the caller was out of state and may have hacked into the store's security system.

"If they can access the Internet, they can get to anything," Hutchinson Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt said. "Anyone in the whole world could have access, if that's what really happened."

One of the Hutchinson hostages, Jim Peterson, said the store manager pleaded with the caller not to harm anyone in the store.

"He was just beside himself," Peterson said. "Everyone was really scared. We didn't know if there was a bomb."

No bomb was found.

Dillons spokesman Sheila Lowrie said the company sent counselors to the scene. "We're sorry the employees and the customers had to go through this," Lowrie said.