VILLAGE OF FISHKILL – A social media threat posted in a Facebook Live video before dawn on Thursday, resulted in heavy police activity at the Gap Distribution Center at 110 Merritt Boulevard by afternoon.
A female Gap employee reportedly called the Town of Fishkill Police Thursday afternoon to say that her boyfriend had posted a video earlier in the day, threatening to “shoot up” the warehouse on Thursday with his “AR”, referencing an assault-style rifle.
The distribution center is in the Village of Fishkill and the information was immediately relayed to them for investigation. Village of Fishkill Police Commissioner Glenn Scofield said that when his agency received the information, they also notified the New York State Police.
The State Police, along with Village and Town of Fishkill Police responded to the Merritt Boulevard location. During the investigation that took place at approximately the same time as shift change, a fire alarm malfunctioned, bringing the Fishkill Fire Department to the scene and causing a slight panic among employees.
Second-shift Gap employees, scheduled to begin work at 4:15 p.m., received electronic communications from the Gap, saying, “All 2nd shift employees must NOT report to the Fishkill campus at this time. Remain away from campus until further instruction is given,” at 4:10 p.m. At 5:16 p.m. the Gap sent another message to employees indicating that the campus had been reopened.
Police officials have said that the person believed to have made the terroristic threat, Dayvon Battle, 19, was located in Hyde Park and taken into custody by the New York State Police. Battle is said to have been in possession of an AR-style rifle when he was picked up.
