Update: Bomb Threat Made Wednesday Night by Male

Story updated Thursday, Jan. 5, at 5:06 p.m.

The caller who left a voicemail at threatening to bomb the school is believed to be a male, according to West Caldwell Police Chief Michael Bramhall.

The message, which was left at 6:19 p.m. Wednesday, was discovered Thursday morning by a school employee and led to the building being evacuated for more than an hour.

Bramhall said the West Caldwell school was searched by the Essex County Bomb Squad and "nothing was found."

Students were told over the school's public address system to evacuate the building at 8:14 a.m., just moments before their first class was about to start.

JCHS Principal Kevin Barnes said the bomb squad responded to the school along with the Essex County Sherriff's Department and West Caldwell Police. The gymnasium and cafeteria were cleared first, allowing students to enter those areas around 8:50 a.m., while three dogs checked the remainder of the building.

The entire school was cleared about 40 minutes later and classes resumed at about 9:35 a.m., Barnes said.

Barnes said a school employee heard the voicemail and alerted the administration. The West Caldwell Police were immediately notified and the decision was made to evacuate the school.

"It's always better to err on the side of caution," Chief Bramhall said.

West Caldwell Police are in the process of determining whether the call came in on a cellphone or landline, Bramhall said.

The public high school followed a normal evacuation procedure where students are directed to nearby Bonnel Field and told to wait in the bleachers. Teachers are asked to take attendance and students are not allowed to leave the premises.

Barnes said students were updated both on the field and in the cafeteria and gymnasium in order to reassure them that they were safe.

Barnes said he told students, if there was a risk, "We wouldn’t be here."

Students regularly practice evacuation drills, according to Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools Superintendent Daniel Gerardi.

"Students are used to the drills," Gerardi said Thursday morning. "I think that’s one of the reasons why things were orderly and everyone followed directions."

Parents were notified of the situation via email by Principal Barnes as students were evacuating the building Thursday morning. A second email was sent to parents shortly before 10 a.m. stating that classes were back in session and that the remainder of the day's schedule would be "normal."

The West Caldwell Fire Department and West Essex First Aid Squad also responded to the high school.

Gerardi estimated that the last bomb threat at the high school took place about a year and a half ago.

Approximately 800 students from Caldwell and West Caldwell attend James Caldwell High School, and about 75 district employees work in the building.