Bomb scare closes HMS

April 1, 2007

By SHARON G. McBRIDE

Frontiersman

HOUSTON - More than 300 children were evacuated from Houston Middle School Tuesday after a bomb scare, said Traci Crotteau the Mat-Su School District public information officer.

&#8220Everyone was safely evacuated and accounted for and taken to the gym

at Houston High School,” she said.

The Houston Police Department was dispatched to the scene after receiving a phone call from a concerned teacher around 9:30 a.m., said the responding officer, Capt. John Rhyshek.

&#8220There was a message written on one of the female bathroom stalls,” Rhyshek said. It read, &#8220BOMB” and had Tuesday's date under it.

Rhyshek didn't take any chances.

&#8220I had them immediately get everyone out,” Rhyshek said. &#8220Then I called the fire department and (emergency services) and had them stand by. I also called the Fort Richardson (explosive ordnance disposal) team and had them stand by. Then myself, a Wasilla police officer and an Alaska State Trooper did a thorough search of the building.”

No suspicious packages were found during the two-and-a-half hour search, he said.

Meanwhile, students waited in the nearby high school

gym for their parents to pick them up.

&#8220There were phones available for the students to call home,” Crotteau said. &#8220Parents had to present ID and had to be listed on each student's emergency release form before they could take them home.”

Students who were not picked up early by their parents ended up taking the school bus home after the &#8220all clear” was given around 1:30 p.m., she said.

Rhyshek said law enforcement officials don't know what prompted the message on the bathroom wall.

&#8220At this point, we are unsure of the motive behind it,” he said. &#8220After interviewing the teachers and the principal there was no standardized testing or other major tests scheduled for

that day.”

Contact Sharon G. McBride at 352-2250 or sharon.mcbride@ frontiersman.com.