Kennewick convention center worker arrested in connection to bomb threat

An employee of the Three Rivers Convention Center was arrested Saturday for allegedly making a bomb threat against the venue in an email.

Convention center workers read the email upon arriving for work Saturday morning, said a release from Kennewick police. The email, which was sent on Friday afternoon, stated that a bomb was going to detonate in the convention center at 6 p.m. and that “this is not a hoax. This is real.”

The convention center was searched and no evidence of explosive devices was found. The 11th annual Fur Ball for Pet Over Population Prevention scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at the venue was to continue as scheduled.

Officers traced the email and discovered it was sent via a Wi-Fi connection at the McDonalds at Gage Boulevard and Steptoe Street. Surveillance video showed convention center employee Spencer Evers, 27, of Kennewick at the restaurant at the time.

Evers was working Saturday and was arrested. He was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of threat to bomb.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Kennewick convention center worker arrested in connection to bomb threat."