A bomb threat prompted an early dismissal of Allen High School on Monday morning, according to officials, the latest in a series of threats made against Allentown School District buildings.
Allentown police Capt. Daniel Gross said officers were called about 9:15 a.m., after two notes were found in the school indicating a bomb was set to detonate.
The school was dismissed at 10:45 a.m. due to the prolonged search, district spokesperson Melissa Reese said.The school building was thoroughly checked over several hours by Allentown firefighters and police, with bomb-sniffing K-9’s from the Lehigh County Sheriff’s Department, state police and СŷƵ International Airport police. No bomb or explosive material was found, and the building was cleared around noon.
The person or persons who made the threat have not yet been identified, and the district is working with Allentown police on the investigation, said Robert Whartenby, the district’s chief operations officer, in a statement.
Monday’s incident follows a string of similar incidents. A bomb threat was made earlier this month at Allen High School, which prompted an evacuation while police and firefighters swept the school.
Two bomb threats were made a week earlier at Trexler Middle School. A student was charged in each of those incidents.
Whartenby acknowledged the disruption that the threats have created.
“This type of conduct is unacceptable,” Whartenby said. “Not only does it disrupt learning, but it also places unnecessary emotional stress on our students, families, and staff and pulls critical safety resources away from our schools and city.”
Whartenby reminded students that bomb threats are a level four infraction under the district’s student handbook, punishable by “long-term out-of-school suspension, alternative educational placement, or expulsion.”
“Any individual found to be involved in making or spreading these threats will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
