Astoria Rumor escalates to "bomb scare"

At about 9:30 Thursday morning the Astoria Police Department received a telephone call reporting a loud noise, believed to be an explosion, in the area of 8th and Commercial. Responding officers searched nearby parking lots, basements side streets and the entire surrounding area, and were unable to find any sign of an explosion or any damage. Officer Joe Symonds contacted four people that reporting hearing the noise, three of them reporting that it was loud enough to “rattle windows.” Other than the one phone report, there were no other calls of reports. There has been speculation that the noise could have been a sonic boom, seal bomb or other large firework item, however the source of the noise remains undetermined.

The report of this noise set off a reaction that quickly spread to areas outside of Astoria, and by early afternoon the Astoria Police Department had received numerous calls from other law enforcement, the media and the military inquiring about a report that a bomb may have gone off in Astoria. Inquiries were received from as far away as Seattle, Portland and Salem. All of the inquiries were quickly responded to, with the assurance that there was no bomb reported. Officers were amazed at how quickly this report of an unidentified noise changed to a report of a bomb, and how far reaching that information was.

Thursday's incident demonstrated how quickly fear and panic can set in when incorrect information gets passed along without verification. The police department reminds citizens to always be alert to their surroundings and vigilant to things that appear out of the ordinary. When any extraordinary event occurs citizens are urged to remain calm, be sure of their facts and avoid passing along information that is based on assumptions, rumor, innuendo and speculation.