LAFAYETTE, Colo.—Lafayette police have arrested a 16-year-old student after an explosive device was found at Centaurus High School.
Authorities said earlier they had singled out a student for questioning. Police say said will release more details at a news conference on Tuesday. They did not return phone calls seeking details.
Lafayette Police Cmdr. Gene McCausey told the Boulder Daily Camera ( ) a device similar to a pipe bomb was found Monday morning, forcing the evacuation of the school and the closure of a nearby road for several hours. A teacher found the suspicious package inside the school and took it outside, where police detonated it.
The device could have hurt people nearby had it exploded, McCausey said. The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are involved in the investigation.
“It was an explosive device, so that’s pretty serious. Especially with what’s happened around the nation recently, we are taking this very seriously,” McCausey said.
Students were evacuated to a field at nearby Ryan elementary but were later released for the day, though their vehicles were kept overnight.
Students said they didn’t know what was going on at first.
“We thought it was a fire drill. They didn’t really tell us anything,” said senior Kayla Vellitt.
Sophomore Anthony Solis said it took him about 10 to 15 minutes to figure out it wasn’t a fire drill and that there was a report of a suspicious device.
“A lot of people were like, ‘It’s a bomb, it’s a bomb,'” he said.
The Boulder Valley School District sent a note around 11 a.m. Monday to parents and faculty members informing them of the investigation and evacuation.
School was open Tuesday, but the parking lot was shut down and students planned to be shuttled from Flatirons Community Church, McCausey said.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
