Grace's school was evacuated due to a bomb scare today. "Scare" is the appropriate word for this and the word "scare" is a relief in a lot of ways however, this was still a very real action. Indeed there was a kid with a plan. He did make a device and did bring it on the bus and did have intentions and talked about causing harm. Luckily the device was made with only 11yr. old skills and wasn't a working bomb. Not to discount that a 11yr old couldn't find a way to make a working bomb. I am just happy that this 11yr old didn't have the proper tools. I think about the reality in this and look back on past events such as Columbine and other school related incidents that have gone wrong and just thanking God that we weren't added to the list today. Hugging my Gracie just a little tighter this afternoon!
Here is what the paper reported about the bomb scare today at Grace's school:
MILTON—An 11-year-old student is in custody for allegedly bringing a fake bomb onto a school bus this morning and making threats to detonate the device, according to the Milton Police Department.
A bus driver reported shortly before 9 a.m. that he saw a student on his bus in possession of an apparent bomb, and that he heard “a student nearest the device state that he had a bomb and threatened to detonate the device either on the bus or in the school,” according to a news release from the Milton Police Department.
The bus at the time was parked outside of Northside Intermediate School, which is located at 159 Northside Dr., Milton.
The Milton Police Department, the Rock County SWAT team and a bomb squad from the Winnebago (Ill.) County Sheriff’s officer were called to the school. The bus and the school were evacuated, and students were taken to a middle school in Milton.
Shortly before 11 a.m. today, negotiators with the SWAT team coaxed the student away from the device and off of the bus, taking the student into custody without incident.
The bomb squad then removed and destroyed the device, which was a child’s video game with wires and batteries attached to it. There were no explosives on the device, police said.
Officers and school district administrators searched inside the school and found nothing suspicious, police said.
The student remains in custody this afternoon, and it’s not clear whether the student gave a motive for the threat or for bringing the fake bomb onto the bus.
Parents were informed of the incident by electronic calls from the district. School was cancelled for the remainder of the day and will resume as normal on Thursday, police said.
The Milton Fire Department and EMS were on standby throughout the incident.
