Chief Frederick Ryan reports that the Arlington police are investigating a bomb threat made against Arlington Catholic High School
Arlington police responded to the school, on Medford Street, at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, after the school reported that someone had phoned in a bomb threat, a department news release says.
The school was evacuated, and out of an abundance of caution, the nearby St. Agnes School was dismissed early.
The Arlington schools were among at least nine schools across Massachusetts evacuated Jan. 15, or placed in safe mode as public safety agencies responded to bomb threats, BostonGlobe.com reported.
The schools received chilling, automated phone messages warning that bombs would detonate in the buildings “in the very near future,” officials told The Globe.
Also evacuated for bomb threats were Boston College High School in Dorchester, two public middle schools in Weymouth, the Abigail Adams and Maria Weston Chapman schools.
No one was injured. After a thorough search, officers determined at 3:30 p.m. that nothing harmful was inside the school.
The Cambridge Police Department and the Massachusetts Environmental Police also responded to the scene with K-9 units to assist Arlington Police.
Arlington Police are aware that other threats were made against Catholic and public schools elsewhere in Massachusetts today.
“At this time, we are actively investigating to determine what, if any, connection exists among various threats made against schools today,” Chief Ryan said. “We will work closely with our law enforcement partners and conduct a full and thorough investigation.”
Chief Ryan would also like to thank the students, faculty, staff, and parents of both schools for their patience and assistance today.
The incident is under investigation by the Arlington Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Emergency protocols were activated by school officials.
In Boston, the Boston police Bomb Squad rushed to BC High after the school received a threat, Officer Rachel Maguire, a police spokeswoman, told The Globe. She said the school received the bomb threat via a “telephone recording.”’
Students went into lock-down while the school was searched by police. The department’s specialized units remains on scene at the Dorchester school at 2:15 p.m., police said.
Students at Chapman and Adams middle schools, both part of Weymouth Public Schools, were relocated to neighboring schools, district superintendent Kenneth Salim said. Weymouth police and fire were at both schools, he said.
Officials are investigating the source and threat level of the calls, according to Salin.The incidents are under investigation by law enforcement.
This report was published Friday, Jan. 15, 2016.
