Woman called in hoax bomb threats at her boyfriend's workplace to spend more time with him

In a bizarre incident in Maine, a woman allegedly called in bomb threats to her boyfriend's workplace so she could get some more time to spend with him.

Kayla Blake from Etna has been arrested and charged with terrorism for her calls, which forced hundreds of staff at Puritan Medical Products to evacuate in panic after the bomb threat. The company, which makes swabs for medical use, primarily for Covid tests, confirmed that her boyfriend is employed with them, reports Central Maine.

According to the police report, Blake had made two separate bomb threats to the firm on Thursday, September 23. Pittsfield police chief Harold Bickmore said that the 33-year-old called Maine State Police at about 9am and threatened to put a bomb at the firm's plant at 129 North Main St. She made another call after two hours, warning that she is planning to place four pipe bombs near the factory.

The company has two manufacturing premises in Pittsfield, and as the call didn't specify which site was the target of the bomb threat, they had to evacuate both to ensure staff safety. Kristy Rizzitello, Puritan's director of human resources, said that it caused them major financial losses after about 400 people had to miss their work as staff on the first shift were ordered to go home while those about to start a second shift were told not to turn up. Rizzitello said the firm is still calculating how much money is lost because of cancelling a full day of production.

Meanwhile, several agencies investigated the bomb threats, including the Pittsfield Fire Department, the FBI, and Cianbro security, which helps with Puritan's security. The call was traced back to Blake when state officials contacted their counterparts at Pittsfield police and the sheriff's offices in Somerset and Penobscot counties.

Penobscot deputies interviewed people in Etna, before questioning the culprit, who allegedly confessed the bomb hoaxes to sheriffs and confirmed there were no bombs. It was then that she told the cops that her motive behind issuing the threats was to see her boyfriend who worked at the plant.

She was taken to the Somerset County Jail after being charged with terrorising Puritan, while work resumed at the company on Friday morning after cops informed it of her arrest.