1,200 evacuated from Pepsi building after bomb threat — Somers, NY

A bomb threat found scribbled on toilet paper in a bathroom at the Pepsi Beverages Co. headquarters on Monday led to the evacuation of 1,200 staff and contract workers.

No device was discovered after the entire nine-story building and its grounds were searched for about two hours.

The message read: “I am going to blow this (expletive) place up,” town Police Chief Michael Driscoll said.

State police evacuated the building, which is set back from Route 35, after the note was seen in a fifth-floor ladies bathroom.

“You have to take these things seriously, but in this case nothing was found. You never know in this day and age,” Driscoll said.

State police brought one bomb-sniffing dog and called for Westchester County police, who had a bomb unit and four dogs. State police will handle a criminal investigation into the threat, Driscoll added.

“At approximately 1 p.m. ET, the Somers, New York office of PepsiCo was evacuated due to a bomb threat, and all employees were evacuated safely. State police and Westchester County K-9 units immediately responded, swept the building, and nothing was found. The office will be open for business tomorrow,” Pepsi spokeswoman Kristi Hinck wrote in an e-mail.

Pepsi Beverages Co. is PepsiCo’s beverage manufacturing, sales and distribution operating unit for the United States, Canada and Mexico. In March, it announced that its bottling division would remain in Somers and signed a new five-year lease.

PepsiCo, headquartered in Purchase, did not receive any threats and was unaffected.

“We take events like this very seriously,” said Dave DeCecco, director of communications, “and appreciate the fact that all our employees were able to get out of the building so quickly and in such an orderly fashion.”

http://www.lohud.com/article/20111004/NEWS02/110040321/1-200-evacuate-Pepsi-building-after-bomb-threat