April 2, 2003 – In the midst of heavy rain Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of Addelita Cancryn Junior High School students spilled out of the school to Joseph Aubain Ballpark in Frenchtown as the school was evacuated after the fourth telephoned bomb threat in recent weeks.
Police issued stern warnings in response Wednesday. Police Commissioner-designate Elton Lewis and Chief Novelle Francis said the threats are an "extreme expense on everyone involved, and the persons making these threats should beware."
Sgt. Thomas Hannah, Police information officer, quoted the officials as saying that "this is most important at this heightened time with the situation in the Middle East and the advent of homeland security. These things will be fully investigated."
Hannah said the department has the means of tracing the phone calls and will do everything possible to find those making the threats. If they are minors, their parents will be held responsible, he said. Investigations into all four of the telephoned bomb scares are proceeding, he said.
Hannah stressed that such threats not only disrupt the school day but require extra police manpower and equipment. And not only do the police respond to the scares; the Fire Service must also do so. Fire officials confirmed Wednesday that they had dispatched a unit to the school that afternoon.
The students filed back to their classrooms around 2:30 p.m. Principal Yvonne Pilgrim wasn’t available for comment late Wednesday.
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