A bomb threat was written of the wall of this girls bathroom at Centralia High School forcing the school to evacuate the building at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday in accordance to school board policy and procedure. The message read: ÒThere is going to be an explosion at 2 p.m. today. I saw the bomb from a friend and I am scared to tell.Ó
Centralia High School was evacuated Thursday afternoon following the discovery of a bomb threat written on the wall of the girl’s bathroom, said Centralia School District Superintendent Dr. Steve Bodnar.
The message, Bodnar said, read as follows: “There is going to be an explosion at 2 p.m. today. I saw the bomb from a friend and I am scared to tell.”
After the student alerted staff members of the message, Bodnar said the school contacted police and, in accordance to school board policy and procedure, the students were evacuated.
“When we see those kinds of things, it’s very serious,” Bodnar said, later adding, “The most important thing is that the safety of students and staff is absolutely number one.”
The school resource officer from the Centralia Police Department was already at the school, and several more Centralia officers as well as deputies from the sheriff’s office responded to search the school, he said.
Police and staff members searched the building for approximately 30 minutes before students were allowed back in to gather their belongings, he said. The students were sent home at 2:30 p.m., which is close to the usual dismissal time.
Every student received a letter to give to their parents or guardians that explained the incident, he said.
“We know (these types of incidents) can create copycats kinds of behavior but in light of the recent tragedies we wanted to make sure everyone is safe,” Bodnar said.
Bodnar said they do not know what student wrote the message, but said they will plan to do further investigation into the incident.
