Overview
- The incident began when theater staff escorted a man out for allegedly harassing a female employee and threatening a manager with two sharpened chopsticks, and the same day police say a bomb threat was then phoned into the AMC.
- The caller told staff he was a federal agent through a purported secretary when he reported a bomb, which prompted an immediate police response and an evacuation protocol at the theater.
- Officers canvassed the Boston Common and Downtown Crossing area, reviewed surveillance footage that showed the suspect leaving the theater and entering a Washington Street restaurant, and located a man matching that footage.
- Police said a callback to a cellphone found on the suspect confirmed the number used to report the threat and an explosive-detection canine cleared him of carrying explosives; the suspect, identified as 55-year-old Christopher McFadden of Beacon Hill, was arrested.
- McFadden faces charges including calling in a bomb or hijack threat with serious public alarm, disturbing the peace, and an outstanding warrant, and he is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court as the police investigation continues.