DOWNTOWN, Boston.- A 55-year-old Beacon Hill man was arrested Tuesday, July 28, 2026, after allegedly making a bomb threat call targeting an AMC theater in downtown Boston following his removal from the venue for harassing an employee, according to police.
Officers responded at approximately 3:43 p.m. to the AMC Theatre on Tremont Street after receiving a report of a bomb threat. Dispatchers reported that an anonymous male caller claimed to be a federal agent and stated, through a purported secretary, that there was a bomb at the theater.
Before officers arrived, theater security reported that an employee had requested assistance at approximately 3:39 p.m. regarding a male patron who was making inappropriate comments toward a female employee. The man, who security believed was under the influence of an unknown substance, was escorted from the theater.
According to police, the man allegedly displayed two sharpened chopsticks and threatened a theater manager while being removed from the venue before leaving the area on foot along Tremont Street.
Officers searched the area around Boston Common and Washington Street and located a man matching the suspect description. Police also reviewed surveillance footage that showed the suspect leaving the theater, traveling through Downtown Crossing, and entering a restaurant on Washington Street, where officers found and arrested him.
During a pat frisk conducted for safety reasons, officers located a cell phone on the suspect. Police said a callback to the number used to make the bomb threat matched the phone found in the suspect’s possession. An Explosion Detection Canine later determined that the suspect was not carrying explosives.
The suspect was identified as Christopher McFadden, 55, of Beacon Hill. He was transported to Nashua Street Jail for booking and is expected to be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court.
McFadden faces charges of bomb/hijack threat with serious public alarm, disturbing the peace subsequent offense, and warrant delay of service.
