UPDATED: Bomb threat reported at Madison Rite Aid

(UPDATE: 5:13 P.M.) MADISON — An employee of the Ashland Road Rite Aid received a phone call threatening a bomb was active at their store and an active shooter was on their way, according to an investigative report provided by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office (RSCO).

The caller was a male, the report said. The Sheriff’s Office responded at 2:36 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

RCSO Units were requested to meet at the parking lot at Kroger (1060 Ashland Road) and approached the Rite Aid parking lot and entered the store.

The Rite Aid was cleared by the Sheriff’s Office; there was no bomb or active shooter. The store reopened after the investigation.

Maj. Joe Masi said no one has been identified or charged at this time. He added he believed the bomb threat was made as a distraction for a theft of a laptop.

“Bomb Threat. Threat made as a diversion in order for a person to steal a laptop,” Masi said in a text to Richland Source at 3:45 this afternoon. “Major Crimes [is] working on identifying the subject.”