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Whit Johnson ReportingGilbert Rodriguez, Shopper: "We heard there was a guy in here threatening."
It was a scary afternoon for shoppers at Valley Fair Mall as a man threatened to blow up the building. Part of the mall was temporarily evacuated. The man making the threats is behind bars and police say the mall is now safe and secure.
Everything is back to normal now at Valley Fair Mall. All the shoppers were given quite a scare Saturday afternoon as the bomb squad used their toys and robots to search some suspicious bags right in front of a door.
The bomb searching robot did its part as police did theirs. A portion of Valley Fair Mall was evacuated around 3:00 Saturday afternoon.
Lt. Matt Elson, West Valley City Police: "Just saying he wanted to blow things up and he wanted to hurt people."
The man making the threats was 59-years-old. He entered the mall with about five suspicious bags.
Gilbert Rodriguez, Shopper: "I just feel thankful I wasn't in the store when the situation happened."
Shoppers near the Mervyn's were evacuated and when police arrived they arrested the suspect immediately. There was no struggle, but there were explosions. As we interviewed police we could hear them in the background.
Lt. Matt Elson, West Valley City Police: "The bomb folks are on scene. They've been going through the packages in things like that using some different techniques. Some of the noises you can hear behind me are the ways of opening up those bags and checking the contents."
Police never found an explosive device. They searched the man and all of his belongings using every precaution, but in the end the building was never in danger.
Gilbert Rodriguez, Shopper: "I have my kids you know when I hear stuff like that and I try to get out and see everything taped off it is a concern. You know things that are going on these days you never can tell what's happening."
Many shoppers, though, were unable to leave when the building was cleared. Police blocked off a large portion of the parking lot.
Gilbert Rodriguez, Shopper: "We're just trying to leave and being told we can't get into our vehicle until the situation is straightened up."
Police are now identifying the man as Robert Borello. They will not comment on whether he had any mental illness or if he was under the influence. Why he went through all of this is still a mystery for now.
