Bomb Threat At Tiverton High School Deemed Bogus, Meeting Still On For Tonight

The state Bomb Squad cleared Tiverton High School all security risk by 11:30 a.m. after students were evacuated due to a bomb threat. School will begin on time on Friday.

Around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday a student notified high school administrators that a message reporting a bomb threat was written on the wall in one of the school's bathrooms. According to Tiverton Police Capt. Patrick Jones, administrators immediately notified School Resource Officer Sgt. Ken Cabral of the threat. 

Tiverton Police put the school on lock down and within 30-45 minutes school was canceled and students were evacuated and on First Student buses on their way home.

"As  far as executing the safety plan, everything was executed the way it was supposed to be," said Supt. William Rearick in an interview on Thursday afternoon. "In this type of crisis [the safety plan] works very well." 

"We determined the need to follow appropriate safety protocols and we did it," added Rearick. "Everything went as according to plan, and it was well executed. We followed our procedures."

By 11:30 a.m. the bomb squad ad the bomb-sniffing K-9 unit determined that there was no actual threat of a bomb exploding in the school, the scene was cleared and administrators were admitted back into the building.

Tonight's special Tiverton School Committee Meeting on school building safety will begin on time at 5 p.m. in the high school library.

Both school administrators and and Tiverton Police believe a student could be to blame for the threat.

"I'm very disappointed that one of our students could do something like this and I would be disappointed regardless but because of what just happened in Connecticut, I am even more so."

Jones agreed that today's events hit at a sensitive time.

"Especially at this time, we take all threats to any public buildings, especially schools very seriously," said Jones. "Making a false threat is a felony offense."

Rearick said he was planning to meet with high school administrators to discuss the handling of the issue.

"We will be addressing this with students and staff, but I am still in discussion with the high school principal on how to handle that," added Rearick.