ELIDA — Elida High School went on lockdown for about two hours Wednesday morning after a student discovered a note in the restroom that stated a bomb would detonate at 11 a.m.
Superintendent Joel Hatfield said school resource officers and local law enforcement searched for a bomb in all three of the district’s buildings, but nothing was found.
“A call was made to area law enforcement agencies and they had their bomb dogs and handlers ready,” Hatfield said. “A search was made, and nothing was found. We continued our investigation but kept the kids locked down as a precaution. We then released the lockdown shortly after 11 a.m., and at that point resumed our day.”
Hatfield said a male high school student was responsible for the threat, but refused to release his name because he is a juvenile. He said they discovered who was responsible for the note fairly quickly, but it took nearly three hours after the lockdown for the student to confess.
At around 2:30 p.m., Hatfield said the student was still being questioned by Elida High School Principal Darren Sharp and a school resource officer. Hatfield was unaware of what a possible punishment might be, and Sharp was not immediately available for comment. Hatfield said he does not take part in the initial punishment because he would serve as the appeal officer in this case should the student challenge an expulsion penalty.
Though the investigation into the bomb threat has concluded, Hatfield said he still needs to look into a communication problem with the district’s text alert system.
Many parents reported they had not received a text message alerting them of the bomb threat. Others stated they got word of the initial threat after they received a text saying the lockdown had ended.
Even Hatfield himself did not receive the alerts.
“From what I understand, it was a countywide glitch in the computer system,” he said. “We sent out emails to people as best we could, and our folks made every attempt to get the word out.”
The text alerts were run through the Northwest Ohio Area Computer Services Cooperative, but Hatfield said they are normally sent out by the district’s technology coordinator.
“It just so happens that this is the day one of our tech people was not available,” he said. “My guess is this was no fault of their’s [NOACSC]. They could very well have been the subject to a computer glitch as well. I’m not placing blame on anyone, I’m just saying we need to find out what took place and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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