Miami news station WPLG reported that Coral Gables police said they received a 911 call at 4:51 a.m. in which a male caller said, “There is a bomb at the Biltmore Hotel, and death to all Jews,” then hung up.
The hotel’s phone system revealed that the call came from the executive chef’s office at the hotel, and after looking at surveillance videos, police determined that 62-year-old Thomas Hudnall had been in the area at the time of the call. Hudnall was arrested and admitted to making the 911 call, according to the news report.
The Coral Gables police said Hudnall referred to “Jews” in the 911 call in the hope that the hotel would be evacuated so he could have the day off work, and they determined he had no intent to harm anyone of the Jewish religion.
Hudnall faces charges of false report of explosive/weapons of mass destruction.