School evacuated when student says bomb will go off with emergency alert test, cops say
A sixth-grade student was taken into custody after saying a bomb would go off at the school at the same time as the nationwide emergency alert test, North Carolina deputies say.
The bomb threat came in the morning of Oct. 4, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. A student at Central Middle School in Whiteville said the bomb would detonate during FEMA’s emergency alert test scheduled for that day at 2:20 ET.
Students were evacuated from the middle school’s buildings while deputies searched for a bomb, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies found no devices, so students returned to class but were still dismissed before the emergency alert, the school said in an announcement.
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Car and bus dismissal took place before 2 p.m., with some after-school activities canceled, according to Central Middle School.
McClatchy News could not immediately reach the school for comment.
The student was taken into custody and later released, deputies said.
The threat came just two days after Whiteville City Schools and other school districts in North Carolina received bomb threats.
“Emails were sent from a Gmail address with the same wording in all emails,” the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office said in an Oct. 2 news release. “Known affected areas include Watauga, Iredell, Brunswick, Wilkes, Burke, Franklin and Columbus Counties.”
No bombs were found at that time, either, deputies said.
Whiteville is 120 miles south of Raleigh.
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