The McDonalds headquarters at West Suburban Oak Brook was evacuated early last Friday morning after what insiders say was a bomb scare.
Things are not looking up for the fast food maker McDonalds. After a rough couple of months in the summer where profits had dipped, the fast food maker had to cope with what was a bomb scare at the company's head quarters.
The building at 2111 McDonalds Drive, located along Cermac Road, near Oakbrook Center, is part of the fast food company's U.S head quarters. It was evacuated after a 911 call was placed reporting a suspicious package found within the premises.
At around 10:42 a.m., Oak Brook police received an unusual phone call. It was an official from the McDonalds building reporting the finding of the package.
The police immediately reported to the scene where the approximately 1300 workers were evacuated. The measures were taken in the abundance of caution. The Oak Brook police worked together with the DuPage County bomb squad to determine the level of the threat posed by the bag. At around 1 p.m., the area was cleared after the DuPage county bomb squad determined that the item was just a digital media player.
Most employees, however, did not return to work because the company was on its last week of the summer schedule and many of McDonalds' employees were leaving at 1 p.m. on Friday.
"It was not a bomb,'' said Oak Brook police Officer Erica Huff.
McDonalds, through its spokeswoman Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem and through its website were able to release information as regards the bomb scare. The fast food maker assured the public that the building was secure.
In a later statement by the Oak Brook police later on, the department confirmed that the package was indeed a digital media player. However, no information on where the item was spotted or why the staffers thought it was suspicious was given.
