Man arrested threatens to ‘blow up’ veterinary hospital over pet spider monkey, police say

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - A Tennessee man is facing charges after police say he threatened to blow up the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital.

According to police, the incident happened around 5 a.m. on Aug. 7 when an officer responding to the clinic after the reported threat came in.

The responding officer said it was later determined that 37-year-old Joseph McDorman was the person who made the threatening call that morning.

McDorman initially called the hospital asking for his pet spider monkey to be seen. But he was told he would have to wait until the clinic opened at 7:30 a.m.

According to the arrest report, he then told the operator, “If my monkey dies, I am coming up there to blow the whole [expletive] building up.”

The clinic refused to serve McDorman after he made the threat.

Police said they were able to run a background check on the phone number, which led them to McDorman.

The 37-year-old is facing charges that include harassment and making a threat of mass violence.