Sheriff's Office arrests, charges man for calling in bomb threat to Allegheny County Courthouse
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office has arrested and charged a 21-year-old man in connection with a bomb threat called into the courthouse earlier this week.
Brandon Hipps is charged with terroristic threats and other counts. He is accused of calling in the threat because he did not want to attend a court date, Sheriff Kevin Kraus said.
Sheriff Kraus says Hipps told investigators he called in the threat because he didn’t want to go to court. @KDKA
— Chris Hoffman (@NewsmanChris) August 18, 2022
"Apparently, he didn't consider the volume of inconsideration that was considered in this case," Kraus said.
Hipps is accused of calling in the threat on Monday morning from West Park in Allegheny Commons on the North Side.
Sheriff Kraus said about 250 people were evacuated as several law enforcement agencies searched the building for about an hour and a half. Investigators found Hipps on Tuesday downtown.
"He feared he was going to be sent to a state institution," Kraus said. "And simply, he didn't want to come to court."
With school around the corner, these threats start coming in more often. Kraus wants people to know these threats are serious and there are stiff consequences.
"if you're going to disrupt people's livelihoods, their business, their profession and what they do on an everyday basis, you are going be sought," Kraus said.
Hipps is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.