Authorities in Beaver County might be feeling victimized by the same irresponsible stunt that created a major terrorism scare Wednesday in Boston.

While the bomb threat that resulted in four Beaver County bridges being closed shortly after midnight Thursday might have been a coincidence in terms of what happened in Boston, at least some Beaver officials no doubt have strong suspicions otherwise.

Those authorities realize the possibility that the person who called in the bomb threat from a phone booth had spent too much of Wednesday watching the Boston drama unfold on CNN or some other news outlet.

But while Boston authorities, by Wednesday evening, knew the identities and business ties of those responsible for Boston's scary incident, Beaver County authorities Thursday were without such concrete information and were facing the troubling realization that the overnight caller, not identified at this time, might choose to cause further disruptions at some time in the future.

Police were hoping for a tip that could lead them to the caller.

If the caller is apprehended, that person no doubt will face action that the caller never would have imagined. Beaver officials notified the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; what appears to have been a prank won't be anything to laugh about — certainly nothing to brag about, although authorities obviously hope the caller is unable to keep a secret.

The four Beaver bridges involved in Thursday's incident — two over the Ohio River and two over the Beaver River — serve a combined total of approximately 43,000 vehicles daily.

The closing of the bridges inconvenienced morning rush-hour traffic, but also led some Beaver County residents to the troubling realization of the panic that such an incident could spawn if it occurred during a busy time of day.

Beaver authorities traced the call to a pay phone, where they found a note saying there was a bomb on one of the bridges. As a precaution, all four spans were closed, the last of which reopened about 11:10 a.m. Thursday.

Authorities found nothing suspicious on any of the bridges, which at least provided relief that someone with knowledge about — and access to — explosives was not actually targeting the county's resources.

Boston officials were angry but feeling lucky Thursday that their worst fears regarding what happened Wednesday weren't realized. They are weighing legal and criminal actions against those responsible.

Beaver County authorities were angry too but hoped to be feeling lucky soon about getting the person responsible for Thursday's bomb threat off the street — so they are not faced with a repeat incident by that individual at some future date.

It is unfortunate that some people gain amusement and satisfaction from causing disruption to others' lives and endangering emergency officials' lives in the process.