UPDATED: Bomb Threat Reported at Milpitas High School

UPDATE 12 P.M.:

Police are continuing to search Milpitas High School after a bomb threat Thursday morning but have so far found nothing suspicious, a police sergeant said.

Students have been sent home for the day while police continue to investigate the threat to the school, Milpitas police Sgt. Sean Heneghan said.

The school received a message on an answering machine stating there was a bomb on campus at about 8 a.m., Heneghan said. Students were immediately evacuated to the football fields, according to the school district.

Police tracked the call to a pay phone but have not identified any suspects. They are continuing to search the campus but have so far not located a bomb, Heneghan said.

Students were sent home from the day starting at about 10 a.m., according to a posting on the Milpitas Unified School District website. Nearby Thomas Russell Middle School and Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School are keeping students inside while the high school is searched.

ORIGINAL STORY AS FOLLOWS:

Students at Milpitas High School are going home this morning because of a bomb threat on campus, school district officials said.

The high school at 1285 Escuela Parkway received a bomb threat this morning and the district announced via a message on the Milpitas Unified School District website that students would be sent home at 10 a.m.

“The Superintendent is at the site and is working with the lead agency,” MUSD officials said in a statement. “Students and staff ‘s safety is our primary concern, and the District will rely on law enforcement to conduct the appropriate search and students will not return to the site until it is cleared.”

Here’s the rest of the message from the district:

Milpitas High School received a bomb threat this morning, April 9, 2015.

Milpitas High School students are all safe and will be released at 10:00 a.m. with prescribed protocol for student release.

Milpitas Police has declared Pomeroy Elementary School and Russell Middle School safe for students and staff, so instruction will continue as a normal school day at those schools.

The following protocol for MHS student release is as follows:

1. 1. Each Teacher needs to make sure all students in his/her class are accounted for- either present or absent.
   2. Students may be released but any items in the buildings cannot be accessed at this time and until the parking lot is checked, cars cannot be removed either.
   3. Teachers need to record the way that students will be leaving, or if they choose to stay.

ONE CLASS AT A TIME can be released in one of these ways:

• • Students can WALK home - They must walk AROUND campus.
  • If they have bikes, they must walk all the way around campus to get their bikes
  • Parents can pick up beginning at 10am on ARIZONA or in the RUSSELL PARKING LOT
  • Students who want to drive home will be able to access their cars by about 10:15
  • Any students who do not have a way home can stay with the teacher.

Nearby Thomas Russell Middle School and Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School are keeping students inside while the high school is evacuated. Police responded to search the school and are continuing to investigate.

– Bay City News Service contributed to this report. Image via Google Maps.