Aberdeen Middle School Bomb Threat: 2 Charged, Police Say

ABERDEEN, MD — Two seventh-grade students at Aberdeen Middle School have been charged as the result of an anonymous bomb threat, according to police. The threat was sent to several students at the school, officials reported.

The threat came through the anonymous app Lipsi as a text message, according to police.

After one student and the parent of another student contacted authorities, officials said the school resource officer at Aberdeen Middle School conducted a probe.

Based on the investigation, police said that the student who said she had received the threat was actually the one who composed the text message, in collaboration with another seventh grade girl.

Police said the girls are accused of collaborating on Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, to send the threat.

They were referred to the Department of Juvenile Services on Wednesday, Jan. 2, officials reported, and have been charged with threats of mass violence and disturbing school operations.

Because of the nature of the threat, Maryland State Police explosive detection dogs and other law enforcement agencies were deployed to assist.

"The Aberdeen Police Department reminds parents to educate their children about the seriousness of making hoax bomb threats and the consequences of doing so," police said in a statement on Thursday, Jan. 3.

"The Aberdeen Police Department takes any threat to public safety seriously and thoroughly investigates each threat to ensure public safety," police said in a statement. "Every hoax bomb threat investigated diverts valuable public safety resources away from performing their normal functions."

File photo by Elizabeth Janney.