Parents Worried As Fourth Bomb Threat Disrupts Woonsocket High

Woonsocket Police continued following leads in the investigation of a series of bomb threats at Woonsocket High School as a fourth threat — a note — was discovered at the school this morning.

Woonsocket Public Information Officer Det. Jamie Paone said the school was evacuated a fourth time today after another note warning of a bomb in the school was discovered there at about 10:49 a.m. The school was evacuated for about an hour today, Paone said, as Woonsocket Police searched the building. No explosives were found.

This is the fourth threat in two weeks at the school.  

Michelle Grenon, whose daughter, Samantha, 15, attends Woonsocket High said her husband got a call from the city's Nixle system telling them of the latest bomb threat. Then, "My daughter called all freaking out," she said.

With the exception of yesterday, Michelle said, the evacuations have all been for about an hour. Tuesday's evacuation lasted for about four hours, though, she said. A number of commenters on Woonsocket Patch also reported the evacuation lasted for hours. Paone said that while police began moving people back into the building at 10:45 a.m., doing that did take about two and a half hours. 

While Michelle thinks the threats are the work of teenagers who want to disrupt school to avoid a test or just escape school itself, her dauther, who is prone to anxiety attacks, is not taking the repeated threats in stride. "She's getting a little more worried each time," Michelle said.

Michelle said she's worried about the disruption to her daughter's life and is looking into alternatives to sending her back to the high school.

"I just hope and pray the police and the school superintendant are working as diligently as the say on catching the culprits," said Woonsocket Patch commenter Sue Turcotte.

"...I have been very worried that they were going to start not taking this seriously any more if this kept happening and though this is probably some person thinking this is a funny joke ( NOT ) the school should still act as if it is cause you never know...," said Woonsocket Patch commenter Lois Bond. 

Previously, Michelle said, the evacuations have been to a nearby Catholic School. Today, she said, students were only moved to Cass Park, next to the school. She said that though the police and the school have responded to the situation admirably, she fears continuing false alarms will dull future responses. 

"That's why we take each and every one of these seriously," Paone said. She couldn't provide details on the notes or calls received during the bomb threats without jeopardizing the investigation, but said detectives are following several leads in the case. Arson Watch has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the persons making the bomb threats.

Meanwhile, Michelle said whoever is making the bomb threats isn't doing much if they're trying to avoid school — classes have started back up each time after a big inconvenience for everybody. "They're really not accomplishing anything except scaring the s*** out of everyone," she said.