School Bells Ring and so do Bomb Scares

From high schools to universities, as students come back to campus, so do called in or written threats of explosives.

A student at John Glenn High School in New Concord, Ohio, was taken into custody by the Muskingum County Sheriffs Office September 13 in connection with a bomb threat in late August. It will be recommended he be expelled, says the East Muskingum Local Schools superintendent. The Muskingum County sheriff said the teen could be charged with inducing panic and possession of a hoax device. Students were evacuated from the school 2 days in a row in connection with the threats. A threat August 30 on a wall of a boys bathroom stall said, If you care about the students, they need to be outside by 12:30. Time is ticking.

Students were evacuated for about an hour. The next day, a student found a device in the stall of a different boys bathroom and students immediately were evacuated. A bomb squad from Franklin County was called in and blasted the box, confirming it was not explosive. That week, students were required to sign in and out of classes to use the restroom or go to the office and security cameras were planned to be installed in the hallways.

In other incidents, the University of Texas at Austin allowed students back into the school buildings September 14 after officials earlier evacuated them due to a bomb threat called in by a man who said he was linked to al Qaida. Minutes after the University of Texas ordered an evacuation, North Dakota State University in Fargo issued its own warning about a bomb threat and told everyone to leave its buildings. North Dakota State was also eventually re-opened after an investigation.

A third school, Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, also issued a security warning September 14. An unspecific threat to campus was made through a graffiti message alluding to dangerous and criminal activity alleged to be carried out during the chapel break period on Friday, said a posting on its Web site. The university said it had added additional security.