Threat to Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant that builds F-150 leads to evacuation, shutdown

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, found no active threat at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri, after hours of security sweeps in response to an anonymous call, the Clay County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.

“The situation began at around 5:20 p.m. Tuesday when a phone call came into Ford’s safety and risk management team,” according to a Clay County Sheriff’s Department news release “A man on the line claimed to be armed with explosives, a rifle and a handgun. He told them he was barricaded on the second floor bathroom in the paint area of the plant.”

The times reflected the Claycomo, Missouri, central time zone, which is an hour later than Michigan.

Ford ceased all production, evacuated the plant and canceled the night shift, the news release said. The road in front of the Ford plant was closed, and the public was asked to avoid the area.

“The man who called said he was an employee and was disgruntled. He gave a name that is not an actual employee of the paint area. He did name his supervisor, and that was the correct name. We have not been able to make contact with him since that time. We pinged his phone and believe the phone number that he used may be spoofed,” the agency said.

“Our Special Tactics and Response Team is entering the plant to find the source of the threat. It is possible this is a swatting call, but we will treat the threat as real until we can prove otherwise. Our negotiators are on scene, as well, and have been unable to make contact.”

The term swatting is used to describe a situation where a prank call is made to an emergency services agency in an attempt to get law enforcement agencies to dispatch armed police officers to a certain location.

There were no reports of gunshots or injuries at the Ford plant, which builds the F-150 pickup and Transit van.

Jessica Enoch, Ford spokeswoman, told the Detroit Free Press early Wednesday that plant officials immediately contacted law enforcement after being alerted to a potential threat.

“We are thankful there were no injuries,” she said. “We are grateful to employees for their cooperation with law enforcement, to UAW leadership for working together with Ford to manage the situation, and to law enforcement officers for their service. Production is resuming this morning.”

An estimated 2,500 workers were evacuated, Enoch told the Free Press.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Department provided updates on Twitter as events unfolded:

9:49 p.m.: “We are investigating a possible threat at the Ford plant in Claycomo. The plant has been shut down and evacuated.”
11:11 p.m.: “Our Special Tactics and Response (STAR) Team was unable to locate anyone on their initial search of the area where the suspect said he was located. Additional tactical teams from around the area are joining to help us search & clear the rest of the factory.”
1:14 a.m.: “The search of the factory is ongoing. Thank you to all the agencies assisting” — Kansas City Police, Gladstone Police, North Kansas City Police, Liberty Police, Claycomo Police, Platte County Sheriff’s Department, Missouri State Highway Police and the Kansas City FBI.
3:31 a.m.: “We and our partner agencies have finished searching the Ford plant. We did not locate anyone inside and have determined the threat was not credible. Investigation into the source of the threats is ongoing.
3:35 a.m.:“69 Highway near the factory will be reopening shortly … Additional thank you’s to Pleasant Valley PD for traffic help and Claycomo Fire Dept. and @KCMOFireDept for being ready to help if needed.”