A man is under arrest and faces charges after allegedly calling in a false bomb threat on a Florida church on Sunday.
Willie Daniel Littlefield, 55, made a 911 call to claim that a vehicle in the parking lot of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Thonotosassa, Fla. contained an explosive device, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies went to the church along with a bomb squad after the threat was made.
The 911 call was traced to a cellular phone registered in Littlefield’s name, WTSP reported. Deputies arrived at Littlefield’s home at the same time as deputies and the bomb squad were deployed to the church, the station reported.
A car containing several closed cardboard boxes was found at the church. According to WTSP, deputies began evacuating people inside the church before cordoning off an area around the car.
No explosive devices were found in the vehicle. The boxes were found to contain car parts, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies said Littlefield, who is unemployed, admitted to the false bomb threat. He was arrested without incident at an address on Ripley Road at around 2 p.m. on Sunday, according to the arrest report by the sheriff’s office. The address is around a 10-minute drive from the Fellowship Baptist Church.
The sheriff’s office said false threats were “not a joke” and warned prank callers to be aware of the results of reporting falsehoods.
