Neighbor’s Phony Bomb Threat Ends with Arrest, Deputies Say

BRADENTON, FL — A 50-year-old Bradenton woman faces criminal charges after Manatee County deputies say she texted a fake bomb threat to her neighbor in the early morning hours Sunday.

According to the sheriff’s office, the case against Nuria Gursoy began to unfold around 12:02 a.m. when Nicholas Riegel, 40, received a text from his next door neighbor. The neighbor told Riegel there was a bomb on his back lanai set to go off within an hour.

Riegel, who lives in the 7600 block of Birds Eye Terrace, called deputies. When they arrived on the scene, they began interviewing the victim and his wife. Homes in the area were also evacuated.

After all the homes were evacuated, the sheriff’s office sent deputies to the neighbor’s home to ask her a few questions.

“Nuria stated the text was an empty threat,” an email from the sheriff’s office said. A canine was brought in to make sure there were no explosives in the area, the agency noted.

While no explosive device was found, Gursoy was charged with filing a false report concerning a bomb.

No further information is available. It is unclear what prompted the action.

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