DENVER-
Days after the massacre at Virginia Tech and just before the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings, one middle school was evacuated and at least 15 metro area schools were locked down Thursday after threats of violence.
A student stood up in class and said he had a bomb, forcing the evacuation of Kearney Middle School in Commerce City northeast of Denver and the lock down of 13 other Adams County School District 14 schools, district spokesman John Albright said.
“In his personal effects we found duct tape, a bicycle pump and a couple things that were potentially suspicious,” Albright said. “And in his locker they found a box all duct-taped up.”
The 13-year-old boy was taken into custody and he told police where they could find “the bomb,” which turned out to be a fake, police said.
The school has about 530 students. Lock downs at the other schools meant no one could enter the building and parents had to sign out their children.
West High School near downtown Denver was locked down from 9:30 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. after an anonymous caller to 911 threatened violence inside the school, principal Patrick Sanchez said. The threat came from the neighborhood outside the school.
“I don’t know if this is the real thing or just a copycat, but I don’t care,” Sanchez said of the threat. “The message to the kids is that the danger is not in the building.”
Littleton High School was locked down after a someone called around 9:35 a.m., saying there was a bomb was in the school parking lot. Police searched every car in the parking lot and found nothing and the lock down was lifted at 11 a.m.
Meanwhile, an East High School student arrested Tuesday faces charges of interfering with faculty and staff at an educational institution and making a credible threat, according to an e-mail sent Wednesday by principal Kathy Callum.
“Please remind your children that threatening others is a serious matter and not something that can be taken lightly,” the e-mail said. “We ask you to talk frequently with your child about what they are hearing and seeing at school.”
