Collier County gets bomb threats among hundreds local and national

Five email threats were received in Collier County including, one off Pelican Bay Boulevard, one at a restaurant at in Mercato, one in Immokalee at FSU College of Medicine, one at a building off 9th Avenue North and the one at Bayfront Inn hotel.

A bomb threat emailed to Bayfront Inn in Naples Thursday when compared to other emailed threats showed many of the threats have a different chemical name written next to the word bomb and came from different email addresses.

“I printed it out, looked at it, and it was the threat of a hydrogen bomb that was planted somewhere on the premises and a demand of 20,000 Bitcoins,” said Jeffrey Porrecha of Bayfront Inn.

Porrecha was working at the hotel on 5th Avenue in Naples when he received an emailed bomb threat in their marina inbox. It demanded they transfer Bitcoin currency by the end of the day. According to the letter, “If the working day is over and people start leaving, the building explosive will detonate.” This did not happen fortunately to everyone at the hotel or in proximity.

“To be honest, in today’s society, I think we’re almost desensitized to email threats like that,” Porrrecha said.

Hundreds of blackmailing bomb threats caused chaos around the country Thursday. At least a dozen random businesses in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties received threats.

“We just have to find out who is doing this because it’s not funny,” Mily Cancio said.

Cancio saw deputies go up the fourth floor of her building.

“Sometimes a not so real that can become a real threat maybe this is just a warning,” Cancio said.

Law enforcement said all of the emailed threats, local and national, are hoaxes, scammer trying to make money.

“We grew up really in the best of times,” Carolyn Haynes said. “But today in fact we may end our lives in very difficult times I think.”

Haynes believes people valued life much more previously.

“Morality was a much higher priority than it is today,” Haynes said.

Collier County Sheriff’s Office checked all grade schools and said none of the emailed bomb threats were received.