Planet Fitness locations in Rhode Island receive fourth series of bomb threats

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Multiple Planet Fitness locations in Rhode Island received bomb threats on Tuesday, marking the fourth time it has happened in the last month.

Police said they are conducting an ongoing investigation into the hoax bomb threats in Rhode Island, with Tuesday marking the fourth threat sent to locations in Providence, East Providence and Warwick.

Well over a dozen locations across the country have received similar threats recently, and each time, police say nothing is found.

Providence police were seen checking out the Planet Fitness on West Fountain Street on Tuesday.

“Near the end of my workout, a couple of cops came in and they were looking around a little bit,” said Chris Slater, a Planet Fitness member.

Slater said this is the first time he’s been at the gym while police showed up to investigate.

“It’s kind of bananas that somebody would call a bomb threat in to Planet Fitness,” Slater said. “It seems like a pretty harmless kind of business, so I’m thinking it’s a prank or, obviously, anybody that calls in a bomb threat is a little bit off their rocker probably.”

Todd McGhee, a law enforcement and security analyst, said in today’s day and age, police see all types of threats.

“Whether it’s swatting calls, whether it’s email threats, whether it’s someone that’s leaving literature behind,” McGhee explained. “If someone has a grievance, but they’re not fully committed to carry out the threat, this is the tactic that they resort to.”

At least 17 planet fitness locations across the country have been targeted by hoax bomb threats, which arose after an Alaska woman had her membership revoked for taking photos she said showed a transgender woman shaving in the women’s locker room.

McGhee said, for a situation like this happening across the country and across Rhode Island, police will look for similar activity in each case.

“They can gather as much information, even if it’s only an email, and from there they’ll go back and start their analysis and start to really roll out the investigation and see if they can glean other information from other planet fitness locations,” McGhee explained.

Meanwhile, Slater is unphased, saying the hoax threats will not keep him from being a Planet Fitness member.

“It doesn’t stop me from coming to work out,” Slater said. “So I don’t take it seriously I guess.”

No explosives have been found after any of the threats.

A spokesperson for Planet Fitness directed all inquiries to local authorities and would not comment further.