Woodland Park Zoo evacuated after bomb threat, reopens

Woodland Park Zoo was closed and evacuated Friday morning following a bomb threat. It reopened at 2 p.m.

The zoo received a phone call with the threat shortly after 11 a.m. and contacted the Seattle Police Department, the zoo said in a media release. The police swept the zoo, did not find any bombs and cleared the zoo to reopen.

The staff evacuated about 3,500 guests and 200 children attending camp, the zoo said.

Over the past several weeks, multiple zoos and aquariums around the country have received similar threats that were later determined to be false swatting attempts," a zoo spokesperson said in a statement. "Regardless of the false nature of those threats, Woodland Park Zoo treated this threat as real and prioritized the safety of our staff, guests and animals.

An earlier note on the zoo's website said it's closed and apologized for the inconvenience. It was later updated to note the reopening.

Summer camp will continue Monday.

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