Baltimore School for the Arts officials sent home print and e-mail notices about two bomb scares there in the last two days
“A letter was sent home to all parents yesterday at the end of the school day, and the school also sent out an e-mail advisory to all parents who have given the school an e-mail address,” city schools Chief Executive Officer Andres Alonso said Thursday.
The two bomb scares at the prestigious Baltimore high school prompted authorities to evacuate students Thursday morning. Roughly 350 students from the Baltimore School for the Arts were moved to the Walters Art Gallery and Maryland Historical Society buildings while Baltimore City schools police checked the school out.
The evacuation came after a note taped to a wall near the school’s administrative offices warned of a bomb on the third floor. The note was the second such threat posted in as many days, sources said.
Parents lauded school officials for acting promptly to protect students.
“It’s very under control. I think they did a fantastic job,” said Eva Glasgow, the mother of a student.
In an e-mail sent to parents Thursday, schools spokesman Leslie Shepard blamed the threat on a yet-to-be-identified student.
“After receiving another note second period this morning, we made the decision to evacuate the building so that the school police teams could search the building,” Shepard wrote.
“Based on all the information, searches and follow-up on leads by the tactical team — they are certain that this is a student who is attempting to disrupt the learning environment,” Shepard wrote.
Meanwhile, Coppin State University officials said a bomb scare prompted the evacuation of a campus building early Thursday morning.
The bomb threat was received by Baltimore police Thursday from a caller who said there was a bomb at the Grace Hill Jacobs building.
After conducting a search of the building and surrounding campus facilities, the authorities concluded the threat was a hoax.
Examiner Staff Writer Mike Silvestri contributed to this report.
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