Round Rock Classrooms Evacuated Over Empty, Unattended Box

ROUND ROCK, TX — In the wake of a series of parcel bombs that terrorized Austin over the course of a three-week period, an empty box left outside a Round Rock portable classroom raised alarm and prompted an evacuation Thursday morning before being deemed harmless.

A district spokeswoman told the Austin American-Statesman the container was found at around 8:45 a.m. on Thursday at Canyon Vista Middle School, 8455 Spicewood Springs Rd. in Austin. As a precaution, the portable buildings were emptied of students who were transferred into the school's main building, she added.

The school got the all-clear by 9:45 a.m. after a police investigation determined the box was empty.

Such are the time in which we now live. Unattended packages have, to varying degree, always sent off some level of suspicion. But in the wake of a terror campaign centered on the delivery of exploding boxes in Austin — a three-week ordeal that began March 2, killed two people and injured more — the once-benign sight of an errant container is now enough to prompt panic.

Canyon Vista Middle School Principal Nicole Hagerty sent a letter to parents and guardians apprising them of the situation. In the letter, she details the timeline of the incident — from the time the empty vessel was found to when Austin Police Department officers determined it posed no threat.

"The safety and security of our students is always our top priority," Hagerty said. "If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at (512) 464-8100."

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