Published: March 13, 2008 10:45 am            

Three held in SJHS threat

• Juveniles arrested Tuesday night

Three juveniles were arrested Tuesday in connection with a bomb threat received at the Stillwater Junior High School earlier in the afternoon.

The arrests were made at about 7 p.m. in Strickland Park.

Due to the age of the offenders, names and ages will not be released by the Stillwater Police Department, according to Capt. Randy Dickerson.

A male caller telephoned the SJHS office at 2:29 p.m. Tuesday and said a bomb would explode at 2:42 p.m. in the cafeteria.

The school building was quickly evacuated. Students were dispatched to a safe location near Skyline Elementary School. Buses and parents picked up the students at that location. Students were not allowed to return to the school building that afternoon to retrieve locker items or bicycles in the rack, officials said.

Stillwater Police made an initial sweep through the building and found nothing suspicious.

Additionally, the bomb squad with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was notified.

They conducted an additional search with the aid of an explosives-sniffing K9. No explosives were found, and no injuries were sustained during the search.

Dickerson said officers identified a suspect shortly after the evacuation of the school. He said officers secured a search warrant for a local residence.

All three juveniles face charges. They are:

Suspect 1: bomb threat/obstructing an officer/unlawful use of a computer.

Suspect 2: Obstructing an officer.

Suspect 3: Obstructing an officer/possession of an offensive weapon.

Dickerson said the bomb threat is a felony while the other charges are misdemeanors. He said he had no knowledge of the offensive weapon the third suspect had in his possession.

According to a press release issued Tuesday, the Stillwater Police Department said it “wishes to thank the staff of the junior high for the way in which this event was handled and for their assistance and professionalism. Thanks are also extended to parents of junior high students who had to respond to an alternate location to pick up their children. With such a chaotic and anxiety inducing event such as this, they responded patiently and greatly aided the effort to keep everyone safe.”

        

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