More bomb threats at area schools

A series of bomb threats are being investigated after several schools across the Miami Valley were evacuated Wednesday.

• Schools in four counties reported bomb threats
• Five school buildings were evacuated Wednesday
• No threats were found to be credible

Main Elementary School, Beavercreek

Main Elementary in Beavercreek was evacuated around 10 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a threatening phone call.

The building was evacuated while police conducted a thorough sweep, a spokesperson for the school said.

Beavercreek police gave the all-clear and students returned to class.

Denver Place Elementary School, Wilmington

Denver Place Elementary in Wilmington was been evacuated after the report of a bomb threat Wednesday morning, according to school officials.

Students were moved to a safe location and parents were been notified.

Students were being released to parents by pickup and busses.

Wilmington Police were on scene investigating the threat.

Belle Haven Elementary School, Dayton

Students at Belle Haven Elementary in Dayton were evacuated to St. Timothy Missionary Baptist Church on Free Pike following a bomb threat, confirmed Jill Moberley, spokeswoman for Dayton Public Schools.

Dayton police and fire responded to the scene.

Ansonia Elementary School, Ansonia

Jim Ashley, superintendent at Ansonia Local Schools, said a computer-generated threat came into the elementary office around 10 a.m. Thursday. The building was evacuated as the Darke County Sheriff’s Office completed a thorough sweep of the K-12 building.

The school had already been on a two-hour delay due to fog, so as students were arriving the threat was received, he said. Students were held on the school buses.

Classes resumed just after 12 p.m. after deputies gave the all-clear.

Edgewood High School, Trenton

Edgewood High School was cleared of after a bomb threat came in Wednesday morning.

There is “no indication that threat was credible. Edgewood staff returning to buildings,” the Butler County Sheriff’s office tweeted about 11:05 a.m.

The high school and other buildings in the complex were evacuated about 10:15 a.m. following a bomb threat.

The call was received in the district office and was described as a computer-generated voice, said Butler County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Melissa Gerhardt.

The county bomb squad and police canines searched the building, Gerhardt said.

High school students who drive to school were permitted to go home and were leaving at 11 a.m. A line of parents waiting to pick up their children had also formed at the school.

Mike Grimes, bomb squad specialist at Butler County Sheriff’s Office, said in a release the caller indicated that the schools contained explosives and the call didn’t last long.

“He or she said there were some explosives in one of the schools but would not say which one,” Grimes said. “The caller hung up and the schools began their evacuations.”

Grimes said this followed an earlier unsubstantiated threat that occurred at Talawanda High School this morning.

“We received information that this happened in several other adjacent counties around the same time,” said Sheriff Richard K. Jones in a release. “We do not know if they are connected or if it is the same person but it is being thoroughly investigated. We take any and all threats of harm very seriously. This individual needs to be arrested quickly and taken off the street.”

Hamilton High School, Hamilton, Butler County

A rash of bomb and shooting threats involving area schools and at Hamilton High School prompted school officials and police to clarify safety issues and sift through some of the fact and fiction surrounding what is going on.

Apparently a social media post Tuesday evening of a dangerous situation that occurred last week had several parents contemplating keeping their kids out of school on Wednesday.

The post carried on several twitter accounts and Facebook stated that a student had been making threats about carrying out a shooting at the Freshman School and Hamilton High School.

Sgt. Ed Buns of the Hamilton Police Department and Joni Copas, director of communications for the Hamilton School District, both confirmed that the social media buzz surrounding the shooting threat was a repost of an incident that happened last week.

“This was about the student who was arrested last Thursday for making verbal threats against the school and students,” Copas said. “With all of the bomb threats and things happening in the area it looks as if something old was being put out on social media as just happening and we are not aware of any new threat.”

The district phone blasted, emailed, texted, placed on Facebook, and used various other methods of communication to offer a comprehensive message about what is going on.

“This is to reassure everyone again that student safety is a top priority for the Hamilton City School District. Please be aware that we have fully investigated reports of threats concerning Hamilton High School and have worked with the Hamilton Police Department,” the statement read. “The student who issued the threats is under police custody. Unfortunately, the rumor mill continues, but we have found no other viable threats.”

Copas added, “as a precaution, we have additional police support at Hamilton High School today. If we hear of direct threats, we investigate and work closely with the Hamilton Police Department to ensure the safety of our students. We will continue to operate schools as we normally do. We will not allow an individual to keep our students from learning in a safe environment.”

Buns said a 16-year-old boy was arrested and has been charged with inducing panic, a second degree felony, and the teen is being housed in the Juvenile Detention Center. He is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 22

“There are so many things that are being put out there on social media and some of the things are just not accurate,” he said. “Unfortunately, once something gets out there it just spreads and causes a panic.”