Washington State Trooper Jonathan Vaughan works with his bomb-sniffing dog, Asia, as they investigate a bomb threat that was made at Winlock High School on Monday afternoon.
Washington State Trooper Jonathan Vaughan walks down the hallway with his bomb-sniffing dog, Asia, as they investigate a bomb threat that was made at Winlock High School on Monday afternoon.
After the second lockdown in as many school days in Lewis County, Winlock’s middle and high schools were given the all-clear Monday afternoon.
The Winlock Middle and Senior High schools went into a lockdown after a student found a bomb threat at about 12:30 p.m. The message indicated a bomb would go off in the school later that afternoon, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Students were evacuated by bus to Winlock Elementary School and later picked up by their parents.
The sheriff’s office responded to the scene with assistance from the Toledo Police Department and the Washington State
Patrol, which swept through the buildings with a bomb-sniffing dog.
Nothing was found during the search.
“Winlock School District is fortunate to have administrators who are trained and highly capable,” superintendent Shannon Criss said in a statement. “We take every incident seriously, as student safety is the highest priority.”
Criss also thanked first responders.
On Friday, Centralia High School was put on lockdown and later evacuated after a note threatening to kill people at an assembly was found on a teacher’s desk.
Centralia’s homecoming football game and dance were postponed after the threat. Adna schools were placed on “minimum access” Friday in response to the threat at Centralia.
The Sheriff’s Office is not releasing how the Winlock threat was communicated, or any further information about the threat itself.
“We take these incidents very seriously, especially in the light of tragic events which have occurred around the nation recently,” said Sheriff Rob Snaza in a prepared statement.
“We have assigned a detective to investigate the threat at the school and will take appropriate action should a suspect be identified.”
The Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the threat at Centralia High School.
All Winlock school activities for Monday night were canceled, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Classes were scheduled to resume today.
Meanwhile, the Centralia High School Associated Student Body announced Monday that homecoming events postponed due to Friday’s threat have been rescheduled.
An assembly will be held Wednesday afternoon. The football game against Tumwater will be Friday at 7 p.m. in Centralia. The homecoming dance will be Saturday, Oct. 17, from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.
