Thornton police arrested a 13-year-old Shadow Ridge Middle School student Monday after officers evacuated the Thornton campus over what they initially described as a “bomb threat.”
In the end, Thornton police searched the school and found containers of a clear fluid they determined to be ethanol alcohol — a volatile and flammable chemical.
The boy, who was not publicly identified, was taken into custody on a charge of interference with staff, faculty or students of an educational institution.
All students and staff members were safely evacuated from the school at around 11:10 a.m., said Joe Ferdani, school district spokesman. “It was due to a report a student might have brought some volatile materials into school,” he said.
Students were bused to 1500 E. 128th Ave., where their parents were able to pick them up.
Later Monday afternoon, another metro-area school was evacuated over a bomb scare. Police evacuated Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora around 3 p.m. “due to a bomb threat.”
Not long afterward, Aurora police that nothing suspicious was located inside the school, and that students were asked to return to class for roll call before being released to their parents.
Shadow Ridge Middle School being evacuated due to bomb threat. School search being conducted now. Student reunification will be at 1500 E. 128th Ave. Updates as investigation continues.
— Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice)
