Downtown Vallejo streets closed after bomb threat

VALLEJO – A bomb threat in downtown Vallejo led Vallejo police to shut down streets Tuesday as they searched for a bomb, according to a Napa County sheriff's sergeant.

As of 11:34 a.m., police cleared the area after a search that did not turn up a bomb.

Napa County Sheriff's Sgt. Frank Walsh, a member of the agency's bomb squad, said that the sheriff's office received a call from Vallejo police at 9:30 a.m. to request mutual aid and dogs to search for a bomb. The sheriff's office searched the area of the threat but didn't find anything.

Walsh did not disclose the target of the threat, but police seemed focused on the Vallejo Center building at 420 Virginia St., which houses the Visit Vallejo offices as well as offices for state Sen. Christopher Cabaldon and U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who is up for reelection today.

Garamendi spokesperson Cameron Niven said that his office was "aware of an evacuation in downtown Vallejo and we are in coordination with the Vallejo Police Department."

"We do not believe that there is a threat at this time," Niven said. "We thank the Vallejo Police Department for their swift and thorough response."

Virginia Street was closed from Sonoma Boulevard to Marin Street, and traffic was closed in the surrounding area on Sonoma Boulevard, Georgia Street Capitol Street and Sacramento Street.

Victory Stores owner Raymond Prather, whose shop is across the street, said police told him to leave around 9:30 a.m. and didn't even give him time to lock the door.

Java Jax owner David Wildman said he decided to close after learning about the bomb threat. "They informed us there's a bomb threat but other than that, I don't know, I wasn't here when it was happening." he said. "So we're closing up."

Wildman said he's been in business for 21 years and never seen a bomb threat to that area.

Monique Goff, the owner of Home Sewn on Marin Street said she saw police arrive and go into the parking lot to the right side of the Vallejo Center building.

"And maybe five minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and by that time, several more cars had come and blocked off different intersections," she said. "And the police officer said that there was a bomb threat. He didn't say anything about who made it or where it was made to, but he said that I had to evacuate and that they were evacuating the whole block of Virginia."

"What a pointless disappointment this is!" Goff said. "It's Election Day, and what a waste of time and resources. It's a bummer."

The Vallejo police and fire departments did not provide any additional information.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Monique Goff.

Isidra Mencos contributed to this story.