Update: Waveland police on high alert after ‘credible’ threats

Waveland police officials said they were notified of multiple threats against police officers and will have extra people on duty this weekend.

Police Chief David Allen said the threats had come via phone and social media, involved possible attacks Saturday night and Sunday and said officers would be shot.

Investigators became aware of the threats through a third party who overheard people, believed to be residents of Waveland, discussing or planning attacks on law enforcement officers in the Waveland and Hancock County area, said Waveland police Det. David Buckley.

“I believe it was generally just cops,” he said. “It wasn’t racial or anything like that.”

Allen said he is treating the threats as credible and Waveland police are on full alert with extra officers on duty tonight.

The threats were not specific to Waveland officers though they were made in Waveland.

“We’ve made notifications to the other agencies and spread the knowledge out to them as well,” Buckley said.

Bay St. Louis Police Chief Mike DeNardo said he has increased patrols as well. Criminals, he said, “don’t know how to read a patch,” on a uniform.

Biloxi Police Chief John Miller, Gulfport Police Sgt. Damon McDaniel and D’Iberville Police Chief Wayne Payne said their departments hadn’t received any specific threats and were not increasing patrols. No other departments on the Coast had made public any press releases or social media posts indicating threats against them.

A Facebook post on Saturday afternoon on the Waveland Police Department’s page asked the public to spread the word and said anything with information about any threats toward emergency services should call dispatch at 228-255-9191 or report it anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-877-787-5898 or at mscoastcrimestoppers.com.

This story was originally published July 9, 2016 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Update: Waveland police on high alert after ‘credible’ threats."