A man is facing charges after police say he called 911 and threatened to blow up Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, claiming he had an explosive device attached to his body. The threat prompted a police response to the arena, but the man was ultimately taken into custody without further incident and no one was hurt in connection with the alarming call.
According to police, the man, identified as Robert Eli, called 911 and said he was about to blow up the building using an explosive device strapped to his body. During that call, police say, he gave his own name and even provided a description of the clothing he was wearing at the time, unusual details for someone making such a threat.
The threat came in on Wednesday night, setting off an urgent response as officers moved toward the scene. Total Mortgage Arena is a prominent venue in Bridgeport, and a caller claiming to be carrying a bomb and ready to set it off inside the building drew immediate and serious attention from police who responded to the area.
When officers arrived and located the man, police say he smashed his phone. Despite the alarming nature of the threat that had been phoned in, Eli was taken into custody without further incident, according to police, and the situation was brought to an end without any violence or injuries reported at the arena or nearby.
After his arrest, police say Eli confessed to making the threat. According to police, he told them his threat was, in his words, due to his outrage over a government conspiracy, offering that as the reason behind the call he had placed to 911 warning that he intended to blow up the Bridgeport venue that night.
Eli has now been hit with charges in connection with the threat, police said. Threats to bomb a public arena are treated seriously by authorities, and the report drew a significant police response even though no device was ultimately used and the man was arrested peacefully once officers reached him at the scene.