Disgruntled customer arrested after calling in bomb threat to city

Gabriel Alan Griffin
Gabriel Alan Griffin
photo Gabriel Alan Griffin, 57

Police have arrested a man who they say was a disgruntled customer who called in a bomb threat to the Chattanooga City Hall's annex on Thursday.

Gabriel Alan Griffin, 57, is facing charges of reckless endangerment and making a false report after the incident.

The call came in to police around noon to the annex at 100 E. 11th St. after a threatening call to 311. The building was evacuated, according Officer Eric Milchak of the Chattanooga Police Department.

photo Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy, right, speaks to other officers outside the City Hall Annex on East 11th Street. A bomb threat was called into the building on Thursday, November 21, 2019. / Staff Photo by Robin Rudd

Police say Griffin was frustrated by his water service being shut off.

The block surrounding the building was blocked off while officers assessed the threat.

photo Chattanooga police are seen outside the Chattanooga City Hall Annex building after a bomb threat was called in to 3-1-1 on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. / Photo by Sarah Grace Taylor

Milchak told the Times Free Press it is unclear if the threat was founded at this time.

City hall across the street was not evacuated.

"We take any perceived threat seriously and have evacuated the Annex building for the time being while the Chattanooga Police Bomb Unit conducts a search and secures the space," Richel Albright, spokeswoman for the Chattanooga mayor's office, said in a statement.

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