MILFORD, MA — A Bellingham man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly making bomb threats to a local hospital and Boston’s Logan International Airport.
John Lee, 42, of Bellingham, was taken into custody at 11:16 a.m. at his residence following a multi-agency investigation.
The incident began at approximately 4:58 a.m. when the Bellingham Police Department notified the Milford Public Safety Communications Center of a 911 call reporting that a bomb had been placed at Milford Regional Medical Center.
Members of the Milford Police Department, Milford Fire Department and Massachusetts State Police responded to the scene and immediately secured and conducted a sweep of the more than 300,000-square-foot property.
At 6:06 a.m., the Massachusetts State Police Fusion Center reported that Boston Logan International Airport had received a similar bomb threat.
At approximately 6:59 a.m., with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police Fusion Center, Lee was identified as the suspect in both bomb threats.
At 7 a.m., the sweep of Milford Regional Medical Center was completed and the lockdown was lifted after the call was determined to be a swatting incident.
At 10:36 a.m., members of the Milford Police Department Detective Bureau, Family Services Unit, Special Operations Unit and K-9 Unit responded to Lee’s residence in Bellingham to execute a search warrant, with assistance from the Bellingham Police Department.
Lee was transported to the Milford Police Department for booking.
“A large-scale response like this creates a massive disruption to the hospital that is critical to our region and instills fear among staff and patients receiving treatment,” said Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino.
In addition to charges related to this incident, Lee had three active warrants for his arrest and was previously charged in November for bomb threats made to Encore Casino in Everett.
Lee was transported to Milford District Court for arraignment and charged with bomb/hijack threat with serious public alarm, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and warrant arrest.
