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# Pier evacuated due to bomb threat
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/pier-evacuated-due-to-bomb-threat/
- Published: 2023-10-09T23:11:53.000Z
- Updated: 2024-12-04T15:16:10.000Z
- Author: Editor
- Tags: Crime, Featured, News, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-06 12:20

The Santa Monica Pier was evacuated after an unidentified suspect climbed onto the Ferris Wheel and was overheard by witnesses saying he had a bomb.

"Our officers are currently evacuating Pacific Park and the Pier and our Crisis Negotiation Team is contacting the subject who appears to be in crisis," said a statement by SMPD at about 3:45 p.m. on Monday.

[Santa Monica Fire Department](https://www.facebook.com/santamonicafd?%5F%5Fcft%5F%5F[0]=AZVvlBL1dxRkaaZ4BN61SFhmq578XdR995rVFzNysZ7zo-qIcFNQaENmZ3vX%5FVqLU1RzzNtuKAfAWBGDXSE8MMx2LnDFUni5g0ow2VmAwgnXGkgsYTuroDnoDuq7kHKBiJS3Mw-AoGEKe8d%5FL5t6mMQFgjGgJtv8HUODrmkELb3%5FV6EJlLvyyLfJcSDwtnode2w&%5F%5Ftn%5F%5F=-]K-R) personnel continued to evacuate all individuals on the Ferris wheel and SMPD announced the suspect was in custody at about 5 p.m. The area was reopened to the public at about 5:30 p.m.

Making its debut on the Santa Monica Pier in May 1996, the original 122,000-pound wheel was modified two years later to run on solar power. The 90-foot structure was used for roughly 3 million rides in its 12 years on the pier.

That wheel was sold after a 10-day eBay auction in April 2008 and is now in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma-based real estate developer Grant Humphreys bought it for $132,400 and made clear his intention to bring it back to his home state. It originally cost approximately $800,000.

His brother, Blair Humphreys, is currently overseeing the creation of the Wheeler District in Oklahoma City, a 150-acre mixed-use [urban development project](http://newsok.com/article/5494136?ref=smdp.com). They decided to use the Ferris wheel as an anchor for a plaza that will become an integrated part of the waterfront community.

In May of [2008](https://smdp.com/2011/05/28/a-wheel-of-a-deal?ref=smdp.com), Pacific Park introduced the current $1.8 million Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel featuring more than 160,000 energy-efficient LED lights that provides higher energy savings while complementing the solar-power application. The eco-friendly, enhanced LED lighting provides 75 percent greater energy savings than most Ferris wheel’s traditional incandescent bulbs.