Kentucky Fried Chicken on Old Kings Road Target of Bomb Threat

Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the threat at 7:47 p.m. and all radio traffic was ordered silenced, a precaution against unintended triggers of explosive devices. A half dozen employees were at the store when the threat was phoned in. The store supervisor told deputies that someone called from a private number at 7:41 p.m.

The voice at the other end sounded like that of a man in his 30s or 40s with a “country sounding accent,” according to the store manager. He asked her what time the store closes. She told him 10 p.m.

“I advise that you leave, we got a bomb planted and you’re gonna get robbed,” the man said. The manager could could hear a second man’s voice in the background saying, “I’ll give ya’ll an hour.” She was unable to determine the race of the subjects.

The manager asked a co-worker to call 911 and report the threat. All employees were evacuated to the nearby Shell gas station, where emergency personnel also staged. Personnel included Palm Coast Fire Department and Flagler County Fire Rescue firefighters. The Palm Coast Fire Police regulated traffic.

No employees had been fired recently, the manager and a co-worker told authorities, and they did not know of anyone who might want to threaten the establishment or felt hostility toward the business.

During the investigation, a call came into the KFC from the same phone number. But there was no answer from the caller. “It is unknown at this time if the caller on the other end is involved in this incident.” the sheriff’s incident report states. “Although the call came from a private number, contact was made with the general manager of the establishment to attempt to ascertain the origin of the call through telephone records.”

Deputies contacted the general manager of that KFC restaurant to ask about surveillance footage that could be examined over a period of hours. Surveillance cameras blanket the establishment without and outside but for a couple of blind spots.

Volusia County Bomb Squad detectives arrived and searched the restaurant, starting at 9:35 p.m., finding nothing suspicious.

Bomb threats are relatively rare and seldom produce actual explosive devices. The last high-profile bomb threat in the county occurred last April at Flagler Palm Coast High School, requiring the evacuation of campus on a weekday morning. Nothing was found.