By 1812Blockhouse
Goodwill outlets in Richland County, as well as others in Summit, Portage, Medina, and Ashland Counties, were closed on Wednesday and Thursday of this week after an employee received a phone call threatening to “shoot up” a store, several news outlets and Goodwill social media shared.
The store in question is on 9th Street Southwest in Canton, while another location also received a threatening phone call.
The decision was made by Goodwill officials to close all area stores until the matter could be investigated and employee/patron safety could be assured. The store made the following statement:
“At Goodwill serving Summit, Portage, Medina, Ashland and Richland Counties, the safety of our people, including the people we serve, our shoppers and donors is always our first priority. As soon as we were notified by our sister Goodwill of threats it received, the decision was made to close all our locations out of an abundance of caution to ensure everyone’s safety. We have decided to remain closed through Dec. 8. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
The move impacted 22 stores and five donation centers.
According to a Fox8 news story, a suspect – a former employee – has been arrested and charged with making terrorist threats and inducing panic.
Photo: Creative Commons License
