Police stepped up patrols around Philadelphia gay bars on Friday night after a social media post threatened a possible shooting.
CBS Philly reports: “A recent online post made reference to a possible shooting at Woody's or Voyeur. Police say they're taking the post seriously. However, they say they do not believe there is an immediate threat.”
Woody's released a statement on Facebook: “In such uncertain times, you wouldn't think a threat would come from a member of our community, but now the unthinkable has happened. A hollow threat was made by a former customer & it's spreading through social media. The owners & management of Woody's have a long working relationship with the Philadelphia police in making the safety of our customers and staff top priority. Philly PD has investigated & Homeland Security has assured us that the threat made is non-credible and unfounded.”
A similar statement was posted on Voyeur's Facebook page.
Coincidentally, the threats come a week after at least two Boston gay bars received threatening phone calls around the same time on consecutive nights. The content of those threats was not disclosed. dbar in Dorchester received a threatening call on Friday night, and Alley Bar in downtown Boston received a similar call on Saturday.
