Bomb Threat Reported at Waltham Elementary: 'They Said They Were Going to Detonate a Bomb'

WALTHAM, MA -- Emergency response crews responded to a bomb threat at a school in Waltham on Tuesday morning, one of several threats called into area schools.

The threat was called in to the Fitzgerald Elementary School in Waltham around 9:45 a.m., confirmed Waltham police.

“The caller stated that there was a detonator and they were going to detonate a bomb,” said Sgt. Det. Joseph Guigno of the Waltham Police Department.

The school was evacuated, and the students were sent to the St. Jude school.

“The building is being cleared and the students will return once the building has been cleared,” said Sgt. Det. Guigno. “The state police have been notified.”

The following email was sent on Tuesday afternoon to the school community from Paul Maiorano, assistant superintendent of Waltham Public Schools:

At 9:56 a.m. this morning, a bomb threat was received at the Fitzgerald Elementary School. The principal immediately called 911 and evacuated the school. The students and staff walked to their site evacuation location which is St. Jude’s Church on Main Street. It was later decided to bus the Fitzgerald students to the McDevitt Middle School where lunch would be provided to the students and staff.

While in the process of busing the students to McDevitt - another situation occurred at McDevitt where smoke was detected in the elevator room. At that time, McDevitt students and staff were evacuated to their site evacuation location which is St. Mary’s Church on School Street. The Fitzgerald students were re-routed to Kennedy Middle School. Shortly after the McDevitt students and staff arrived at St. Mary’s, the all clear was called at McDevitt and the students and staff returned to McDevitt.

Fitzgerald parents were encouraged to pick up their children at Kennedy Middle School. Students who were not able to be picked up were provided lunch and stayed with their teachers until the end of the day.

Waltham Police, Fire and school department personnel did an initial search of the Fitzgerald building. Additionally, the State Police provided a bomb sniffing dog and did a thorough sweep of the building. The building has been deemed safe.

All Waltham Public Schools will be open tomorrow.

Several threats were reported across schools in Massachusetts Tuesday for the second time in a week. On Friday, at least eight schools were threatened.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.