Bomb Threats Force Evacuation Of 2 Windsor Locks Elementary Schools

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — A bomb threat called into the North Street School Friday morning was followed by another at the South Street School, prompting police and school officials to evacuate, then dismiss all students for the day.

The call to the North Street School was received around 10:44 a.m., causing officials to place the school into lockdown. A decision was made to evacuate and then dismiss the students, "erring on the side of caution," Lt. Paul Cherniack said.

About 45 minutes later, a second threat was called into the South Street School. Police and school officials followed the same evacuation procedure, Cherniack said.

Bomb-sniffing dogs from the Connecticut State Police conducted a search at the North Street School, which was deemed secure. They then repeated the procedure at South Street, with similar results, Chernaick said.

Each threat was described as having been made "from an automated voice, obviously used to disguise the caller and origin of call," Cherniack said.

The Windsor Locks Police Department Detective Division is continuing the investigation.

First Selectman Paul Harrington penned a note to the Windsor Locks community on social media.

"Today’s incidents once again shook us to our core as North and South Street schools were victims of another hoax and reminded us that the world, we live in has some very bad people living amongst us. The initial call came in at approximately 10:45am and within 20 mins the first contact went out to parents advising them of the situation and where to unify themselves with their child. Our police and help from surrounding towns departments were at the scene(s) instantly as our students were brought to safety nearby. From there our unification process began. Although a tedious process, it ensures that every student is unified with their rightful family. It does take time and as a parent I know how each and everyone felt trying to get to their kid. I myself even wanted to grab my child and run home. It’s important that every child is accounted for and is handed off to the proper person to ensure the child’s safety. I saw the look in everyone’s eyes just wanting that hug from their child. We worked as fast as we could to get this process done as quickly as we could. I want to thank the entire school staff, police, everyone else who worked together and our community for allowing us to do what we had to do for the safety of our kids. We will be meeting over the next few days to debrief on all that went on and what went right and what could we do better. Tonight, we once again hold our kids a little tighter as we try and process the events of the day."

Paul Harrington
First Selectman