Bomb Threat At School, All Students In Safe Area
[Updated] Someone has made a threat of a bomb on the premises of the Whitney Institute Middle School this morning [June 1] resulting in the school and the police putting their protocols into place, and the students and faculty are in a safe area, the police said this morning.
A police spokesperson said, “At 8:04am today [Monday, June 1st] first responders attended a report of a burglary that took place at the Whitney Institute Middle School.
“Upon police arrival it was ascertained that someone made a threat of a bomb on the premises, resulting in the school and the police putting their protocols into place.
“The students and faculty are in a safe area and the Emergency Ordnance Disposal Unit will be processing the scene,” the police added. “We will update this matter as it warrants.”
Update 9.44am: Chief Inspector Smith provided more details about the incident, saying that a “veiled threat was recorded on one of the blackboards.”
Update 3.05pm: A police spokesperson said, “Around 10:20am today [Monday, June 1st] the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit completed their search of Whitney Institute Middle School without incident and deemed the school safe to resume normal operation, following a reported bomb threat earlier.
“First responders initially attended a reported burglary of Whitney Institute at 8:04am today, where an apparent bomb threat was discovered.
“As a result, protocols were put into place to ensure the teachers and students were in a safe area while the scene was examined.
“Inquiries continue regarding this matter and anyone who may have relevant information should contact the main police telephone number at 295-0011.”
I hope this ‘safe area’ is not on the school property!?
the safe area in the gym
Maybe its time for the Dept. of Education to rethink bomb threat safety spots of this is True.
smh
Inspector, parents have NOT been contacted, I am on the school email system, and I have received no word of this yet, I had to find out about it by chance when I happened to glance at the website. I also called someone else who has children there and she received no email either. We dont even know where our kids are being held!
Just had this same conversation with my daughter’s mother. It’s crazy to find this out through an online news site.
I am a parent as well. I had to find out about this via a coworker who told me to look on this website. Where are the children being held? Some type of communication would be helpful.
Praying that it is not a credible threat, and just some kid trying to interrupt exams, not realizing the exams are for their future success.
Someone doesn’t want to sit an Exam today…..SMH!?!….#growup
Using hashtags where they’re supposed to be used might be a sign of growing up too .
so true
Portia, I’m in agreement with you. I am a parent with a son at that school and I heard from a colleague of mine who was looking online. The parents should have been notified before it became public knowledge. I’m so sick of the system. I had to call the school about 45 minutes ago and they said they was sending an e-mail to the parents….well I’m still waiting for mine!!! So vexed right now. AND to further add to my dismay….I am waiting for my son to call as well to ensure he is ok. This is not a joke (even if it was a prank), there was a bomb threat!! That’s serious and detrimental to the students, staff and parents. They handled this very poorly. Get it a grip MOE!!!
On the blackboard? Really?!?! Please tell me there is a camera somewhere in or near that classroom that can help figure out who this fool is. As others have said, someone doesn’t want to sit their exams. SMH.
the safe area in the gym
Totally understand your frustration as a parent Portia, but realistically the staff and faculty cannot get into the building to access students records and computers to notify parents.
Good point Darryl. Now hopefully some good will come out of this in the sense that maybe they will try to set up a new system that allows them to contact parents without having to physically be on the school property. Perhaps at least one teacher can have the contacts stored in their phone? I could be wrong but I would bet good money that no-one left their cellphone behind on the property.
One can contact parents via cellphone . One can use sites such a BB messaging etc.
would be smart not to have one record of every child…in case of things like this the Dept. of Education should have all public students files at a different location as well as the school they attend.
Standard practice would dictate you take your class list with you when leaving the building . This is done for a simple fire drill. Someone dropped the ball.
I do understand everyones concern. However from previous experiences after living in the USA for four years the standard procedure is to alert parents through media as it is a high risk for teachers as well to be in unsafe areas of the school. I do understand you would like to know the safety of your children however you dont think teachers or the office have time to send out an e-mail if it really was a bomb on the campus. #JustSaying
If everyone was in a safe area it would be a bit hard for the school to send out an e-mail to all parents because I am guessing there was no body in the office. These children have $$$$ phones so why did they not take the initiative and call their parents and let them know what was happening.
Actually, the last “emergency incident” they had, kids used their phones to notify parents and got in trouble. They were reminded its against school rules to use their phones even if just trying to contact parents. MOE needs to put something in place whereas an administrator based at the Dept of Ed sends out a mass email to the relevant schools’ parent body. Hopefully this highlights a serious issue that can potentially cause chaos in the event of a real problem/threat.
Some stupid student has done this .
Looks like someone forgot to do their homework over the weekend
So… I attend the school and they had us up on the tennis court and then the police moved us.to the gym ! And then they explained what had happend suppose their was a bomb?
Empress – it’s supposed to read “suppose there was a bomb” – guess you missed English today.
I remember a bomb threat bring called in during my school days like ten years ago at Warwick. I also recall being pretty happy about sitting outside in the sun wasting time with friends while they checked everything out.
Concerned parents. Think about it… The news media had to be the venue to get the information out as the entire facility had to be evacuated… I understand the worry that this had caused you but it had to be done that way. The safe area was the same one as for the fire evacuation plan which was more than 500 feet away from the school building. The students were only moved to the gymn after it and the surrounding buildings were cleared rather than leaving them outside in te pouring rain. Ihope this infrmation helps allay those fears felt…