Harrisonburg teen arrested after prank call shuts down Kohl’s on Monday

A 19-year-old has been charged after a prank call to the Harrisonburg Kohl’s triggered an evacuation and massive local emergency response.

Riley Mercado, 19, faces a misdemeanor charge related to the Monday night prank call, according to a press release from the City of Harrisonburg issued on Tuesday night.

After receiving the call, Kohl’s management informed the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center of a possible bomb threat, resulting in nine Harrisonburg Police units and two fire engines, one fire truck, a battalion chief, a command officer and an EMS unit with the Harrisonburg Fire Department staging around the building as part of the city’s emergency response.

An immediate HPD investigation, aided by James Madison University Police, determined the location of the call, and officers questioned Mercado about the incident. She admitted to making the call as part of a number of prank calls she and her friends had made that evening to area businesses.