Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township, seen here, was one of at least two stores that closed early on Tuesday, though it was not immediately clear whether that was related to social media reports of planned looting in the township.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
A Wilkes-Barre Township police cruiser is seen stationed outside of Walmart on Tuesday night after the store closed following threats of looting.
iNails, located in the Wilkes-Barre Township Marketplace, is seen boarded up Tuesday night.
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Rumors of a planned looting spree at Walmart led to the early closure of several businesses in the township on Tuesday evening.
No arrests had been made Tuesday in connection with a Facebook post at the center of the controversy, in which a user wrote on Monday night: “we LOOTING WALMART IN WILKES BARRE PA TOMORROW @ 8, IN ALL BLACK OR JUST ME?”
The post was later removed, with the user writing that it had been “a joke.”
Police and businesses weren’t laughing. No charges had been filed as of Tuesday night, but an officer at the scene said “we treat every threat as credible.”
Walmart and Wegmans were among those who shut down prior to 6 p.m. Consumers and workers told the Times Leader that Chick-Fil-A, Target and Lowe’s were among those that also closed.
By 8 p.m. the normally crowded lot at Walmart was nearly empty, save for a few remaining police cars and a handful of media. Wilkes-Barre Township police were expected to be on scene at Walmart into the night, standing watch.
An employee at the Walmart Supercenter working at the front door at about 5:45 p.m. said that the store was closed for the day and would reopen on Wednesday.
Staff at Wegmans supermarket were posted at the doors around 5:30 p.m. with signs indicating that the store was closed, but declined to comment and told a reporter not to take photos of the signs.
At least one small business did say they were also had been advised by police that law enforcement was taking the threat seriously.
According to a post on its Facebook page, Nello’s Pizza in the Wilkes Barre Township Market Place, around the corner in the plaza where Walmart is located, said township police had reached out to businesses about the threat, and that they had decided to close their restaurant early as a result.
“We hope nothing comes to fruition but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” the post read. “We hope to be open tomorrow and back to ‘normal.’”
Another business in the plaza, a nail salon, was boarded up Tuesday evening, apparently as a precaution.