Target Store Evacuated After Bomb Threat Calls Out Pride Merchandise

A Target store in Layton, Utah, was evacuated Friday morning after a bomb threat named four stores in the state.

No explosive device was found at the store at 815 West 2000 North, according to a dispatcher who answered the phone at the Layton police department.

Sgt. John Ottesen told KUTV threats were made to Target stores in Layton, Salt Lake, Taylorsville and Provo.

Salt Lake City Police told The Messenger in a statement that “there is no credible threat to the Target stores in Salt Lake City.”

“Officers will continue to do neighborhood patrols around the Target locations in Salt Lake City out of an abundance of caution,” the statement added.

“Because the investigation is ongoing with several law enforcement agencies throughout the state, we can’t go into specifics about the threats," it noted.

KUTV reports that the threats were emailed to local TV stations and that the emails mentioned Target's Pride merchandise. No other details were available about the content of the messages.

Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday evening.

On Tuesday, the Minneapolis-based retail chain said it would remove some LGBTQ Pride Month merchandise from stores after some employees were threatened by customers who made them feel unsafe.

Target has sold rainbow-colored products for years, but the latest decision was made as employees have recently faced condemnation about store displays – encounters that have eroded their “sense of safety and wellbeing while at work,” a company spokesperson said earlier this week.