Pa. mall evacuated, man claimed to have bomb like in Boston, police say

(CBS) BETHEL PARK, Pa. - A man authorities say made a bomb threat at a Pittsburgh-area mall Sunday has been arrested, CBS Pittsburgh reported.

Authorities said, Frank Zahler, 71, was in a store at the South Hills Village mall when he claimed he had a bomb and the bomb-making materials that were used in last week's attack at the Boston Marathon.

According to police, the mall was evacuated around 6 p.m. Sunday.

"It's crazy. I didn't have anything. I was making a joke with the kid. These kids are whacky man, you know. What can you do with them? That's America today. In my day, we would have laughed it off," Zahler said while sitting in the back of a police car.

Customers who apparently didn't get the joke called police.

"When he came in, he had this big briefcase not just a leather briefcase, but a very hard durable looking briefcase and gym bag," Melissa Roman said.

"They [police] come in and no questions asked, just asked him what he was doing and then they said can you please stand up and he stood up and put him in cuffs and they walked him right outside and that was it.," one witness said.

Zahler is facing charges including making terroristic threats, risking a catastrophe and threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction.