A Michigan Planet Fitness location was evacuated and closed for several hours on Sunday due to a bomb scare brought on by a suspicious WiFi network name.
According to MLive.com, a member at the gym in Saginaw Township, Mich., pointed out the WiFi network, which had been named “remote detonator,” to staff. The gym manager evacuated the gym and called police. The 24-hour gym was closed for about three hours during the incident.
Police called in a bomb-sniffing dog, who made a precautionary sweep, but found no reason for alarm. The network “remote detonator,” was apparently just a joke made in poor taste. However, simply naming a WiFi network does not rise to the level of a crime, according to local police chief Donald Pussehl.
“Everything is perfectly legal from a police standpoint,” Pussehl told MLive. “There was no crime or threat. No call saying there was a bomb.”
While tongue-in-cheek network names are not unusual, a Planet Fitness spokesperson said that the manager did the right thing by evacuating the facility and contacting authorities.
“If there’s any suspicion of any device or anything in the club that would require police attention, the protocol is they close the facility and contact police,” spokesperson McCall Gosselin told MLive. “Safety is always first.”
