Update: Coloring books were in suspicious package that led to cancellation of Drag Queen Story Time: police

Parts of downtown Lancaster were evacuated Saturday afternoon amid bomb threats referencing a canceled Drag Queen Story Hour event at Lancaster Public Library.

The threats also specifically mentioned the home addresses of the library’s executive director, the president of Lancaster Pride, which was supposed to host the event, and an LNP | LancasterOnline reporter.

The email was sent at 12:07 p.m. and said the bombs were to go off at 1:30 p.m. At 3:16 p.m. police lifted the evacuation order and by 3:30 p.m., downtown streets were reopened and people were filling the sidewalks.

The email read, in part: “Bring the fire department, we placed pipe bombs as well as fuel bombs will likely cause a fire spreading to other buildings. evacuate so no innocents die. You are (expletive) degenerates, pedophiles, child abusers or (expletive) cowards who rather let our children get preyed upon than be called a bigot. (expletive)you degenerates, we will kill you all and purify our land.”

Earlier Saturday, Lancaster Pride canceled the reading hour after a suspicious package was found inside the library.

Amber Strazzo Righter, a city spokeswoman, said a dog “alerted” on the package, meaning that something raised its suspicion.

“There are a number of reasons why the dogs could have alerted on it, but we cannot speculate as we do not have confirmation,” Strazzo Righter said. “We can however confirm that the contents of the package were benign. Subsequently, we received additional written threats via email.”

The event cancellation, bomb threats and evacuations caused havoc downtown and at the pop-culture convention Zenkaikon, which had drawn thousands of people downtown to the Lancaster County Convention Center.

After the evacuation order, police took steps to secure the areas, and when they were deemed safe, K-9s were sent to the affected areas to clear them. No explosives were found.

The town of Reading, Massachusetts, also evacuated its public library Saturday morning after a bomb threat that also turned out to be unfounded. The library had been scheduled to host a similar children’s storytime program. Reading, a town of about 25,500 people, is about 15 miles south of Boston.

Official reaction

Chief Richard Mendez said bomb threats disrupt peace and safety of the community and waste valuable public resources.

"These threats trigger costly responses and stretch our resources thin, leaving our community vulnerable to genuine emergencies," Mendez said. "Bomb threats will not be tolerated, and we are committed to identifying and prosecuting those responsible."

While the threats were unfounded, police said they "will exhaust all efforts to investigate who sent them" and asked anyone with information to call them at 717-735-3300.

Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace said the city was committed to the safety of residents. 

The city "will hold those responsible for today’s bomb threats accountable for their actions, which disrupted the lives of thousands of residents and visitors, as well as our local business community, and wasted public resources. These threats specifically targeted the LGBTQ+ community, the media, and our public library," Sorace said. "Thanks to the dedication of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police and assisting agencies, the evacuation order has been lifted; yet, a sense of fear remains, most especially for our LGBTQ+ community. While we respect differences in opinion and the freedom of expression, the use of fear to manipulate and control our community will not be tolerated in Lancaster City. We will not be deterred from loving our neighbors – all of them.” 

Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams echoed Mendez's comments about the threats being a crime.

"It should not have to be stated that it is unacceptable to threaten violence toward anyone. These actions are criminal, and law enforcement will continue to investigate to determine the source," she said.

The threats came two weeks after Lancaster County’s two Republican commissioners, Josh Parsons and Ray D’Agostino, first made critical remarks on social media about Drag Queen Story Hour. Their criticism touched off a cultural firestorm, with people across the county and beyond weighing in for and against the event.

D’Agostino and Parsons posted their reactions to the threats Saturday on Facebook.

“The threats that led to the cancellation of the event at the Lancaster Public Library this afternoon are deeply distressing and have no place in our community. Whoever is responsible and regardless of their motive for the terroristic threats, must be identified, apprehended, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” D’Agostino wrote.

In his post, Parsons wrote: “It is my hope and expectation that the perpetrators will be quickly caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This is true regardless of whether they actually oppose the Drag Queen Story Hour or they support it and are seeking to create outrage against those who oppose it. The consequences should be the same and extremely serious. Threats of violence have no place in our debates.”

Alice Yoder, the minority Democrat commissioner, said in a text Saturday that while she was disappointed the event was canceled, “I am even more disappointed in the threat of violence that caused the cancellation and the rhetoric that fed those threats. The words feeding the flame of that violence are just as dangerous as the threats themselves. We are talking about our neighbors here.”

The text was also posted on her Facebook page: “Lancaster is home to a lot of love and support for our LGBTQ+ community and I know that will always win. I look forward to continuing to support the library, the community, and to many future events to come.”

Bomb threats

Tiffany Shirley, president of Lancaster Pride, was downtown when she learned that her home had been mentioned by its address. Police were searching it in the early afternoon, but she was not home, but instead was somewhere safe.

“I’m disheartened that someone truly wanted to cause harm. It's disgusting. It’s disgusting,” Shirley said.

Shirley said while she’s had vague, anonymous threats made against her, nothing was of the magnitude of a bomb threat at her house. And police had never had to clear her house of a bomb threat before. 

She said she was appreciative of the police response.

“I just really just want to stress that this has broken all our hearts and we are heartbroken. We just wanted a safe, fun family event,” Shirley said. “Unfortunately some people had terrible, terrible intentions,”

Lissa Holland, the library’s executive director, did not immediately provide a comment.

Matthew Kroll, a pastor at the Lord’s House of Prayer in Lancaster city, helped organize an event Friday night in Ewell Plaza asking for divine intervention to stop the event.

He was aware of the bomb threats and said it wasn’t what they wanted.

“The Gospel is never against people or for violence,” he said. “So the actions that happened today, I am grieved over.”

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