A Duke McDonald’s employee was arrested Wednesday after allegedly making false bomb threats to the University Saturday.
Renaldo Webbe, a 20-year-old Durham man, was charged with making a false bomb report and making a false report of mass violence on educational property—both felonies—according to an arrest warrant. Officers from Duke University Police Department and Durham Police Department arrested Webbe at his home at about 5 p.m. Wednesday. Webbe is currently in custody at Durham County Jail, Duke Police Chief John Dailey said.
Webbe is expected to appear in court Oct. 6, and his bail is set at $3,500, said C. Scott, an employee in inmate booking at Durham County Jails.
Webbe allegedly called the Bryan Center Saturday morning, claiming that there were three bombs located in the building set to detonate at 1 p.m., according to the warrant. Two calls were made—one to the Gothic Bookshop and the other to McDonald’s, where Webbe worked as a temporary employee.
Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said McDonald’s is a contractor and hires its own employees—meaning Webbe was not a Duke employee.
“I’m thrilled that the police were able to make an arrest,” Moneta said “It was outrageous behavior that could really have put a lot of lives at risk.”
McDonald’s employees declined to comment because of McDonald’s corporate policy.
Police were able to establish Webbe as a suspect partially because they were able to trace the phone calls that were made Saturday morning, said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration and emergency response coordinator. Cavanaugh said he is not able to comment further on the investigation.
The Bryan Center was evacuated for approximately two hours Saturday, while members of DUPD, DPD and the Raleigh Police Department hand-searched the building for indications of a bomb. Police also used a bomb-sniffing dog. There were early signs that led police to believe the bomb threat was a prank, Cavanaugh noted.
“We’re very pleased with the collaboration, the response and the cooperation between [DUPD, DPD and RPD] that was put into place immediately once these calls were made,” Cavanaugh said. “We have to take these things very seriously even if it was believed in the beginning to be a hoax.”
As soon as McDonald’s was aware that Webbe was a potential suspect, they suspended him from work, Cavanaugh said. He added that he did not have any information as to why Webbe made the threats.
Webbe is now banned from Duke property, Dailey said.
Senior Alex Cha said he hopes the threat was made due to internal problems within McDonald’s—not because of a bad relationship between servers and the students.
“I’d be more concerned if it was a student rather than a member of the staff,” Cha said.
Freshman Judson Taylor said he was slightly concerned that the bomb threat was made by someone associated with the Duke community.
“Duke is supposed to be a safe-haven,” Taylor said.
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