New Jersey mall evacuated after bomb threat on Black Friday

A New Jersey mall was briefly evacuated Friday after someone called in a bomb threat on the busiest shopping day of the year.

New Jersey State Police said the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J., received a bomb threat around 7:13 a.m. local time and police quickly ordered an evacuation of the building out of an abundance of caution.

Police said bomb and K-9 units swept the mall but did not find any explosive devices.

“The mall has been deemed safe and American Dream will be returning to normal operations,” state police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Police said an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said there is no imminent threat to shoppers at this time but police were on alert.

“We will remain vigilant to ensure everyone stays safe this holiday season,” Murphy wrote on X.