The Gateway Church is probably having its worst week ever as the Texas megachurch received a bomb threat on Monday, June 17, a day before founder Robert Morris submitted his resignation amidst sexual abuse accusations.
Knewz.com has learned that the incident occurred at the Southlake campus of the Gateway Church.
The bomb threat was called in at 6.30 p.m. local time on Monday, with a battalion, engine, and medic from the Southlake Fire Department dispatched to the location, along with several officers from the Southlake Police Department.
According to a report from the Southlake Police Department, officers evacuated the premises of the church by 8.30 p.m.
Brad Uptmore, the Southlake Public Information Officer, said in a statement to The Roys Report that firefighters and officers did a complete sweep of the building without finding anything of concern.
"Gateway Church received a general bomb threat that was reported to us, though it didn’t specify the Southlake location... As a precaution, an evacuation was conducted and officers and firefighters cleared the building with nothing located," Uptmore explained.
Notably, the Southlake Police Department report of the incident, obtained by The Roys Report, mentioned that the bomb threat call had come from a phone in the 817 area code, which covers the western part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
However, the IT department at Gateway Church found that the number is a "receiving Zoom number only and cannot make outgoing calls," per the report.
The Southlake Police Department tracked down the owner of the number, who turned out to be a woman living in Wichita Falls, Texas. The woman, who reportedly suffers from dementia, said that the number was very old and had not been used by her in years.
Police also spoke to her grandson, who confirmed the same.
The Roys Report wrote that the church did not inform the parents of students who attended the Gateway Church Annual Student Conference of the bomb threat, among other significant developments.
The student conference, which was held at the church from June 19 to 21, saw the attendance of 3,000-4,000 high school students, none of whose parents knew anything about the bomb threat fiasco.
Keatin Black, whose 14-year-old daughter attended the conference, told The Roys Report that Gateway did not notify parents about the bomb threat, although the conference ended an hour early on June 19.
She added that many parents involved with the church also had no idea about the sexual abuse allegations against pastor Morris after the scandal came to light.
"Black said she expected an email from Gateway, informing parents about what had happened and assuring them that their children’s safety is a top priority and that all the staff and volunteers at the conference had been fully vetted," The Roys Report wrote.
Pastor Morris was recently accused by Cindy Clemishire of molesting and sexually abusing her for four and a half years, starting in 1982 when she was 12.
After the scandal came to light, Morris shared a statement with the outlet The Christian Post confessing to the crime, although he described 12-year-old Clemishire as "a young lady."
"When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years," Morris told the outlet.
"In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father. They asked me to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area."
