Two Bay county schools entered lockdown early Monday morning after anonymous bomb threats were phoned in.
According to statements from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, an anonymous phone call was made with bomb threats at Rutherford High School at about 8:30 a.m. Another anonymous call making a bomb threat directed at Mosley High School came in at about 9 a.m.
Both schools were searched and ultimately nothing was found.
“This is not a joke,” Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “This is not a prank. Making false bomb threats against schools ties up critical emergency resources, disrupts thousands of students and families, and forces law enforcement officers to respond as though an actual threat exists.”
No one has currently been identified or arrested for making those calls.
The Bay County Sherriff’s Office is working with other federal law enforcement officers to investigate the calls. They believe it was a swatting, or the use of false reports to garner a large law enforcement response.
According to a school district official, at this time due to Bay County Sherriff’s office finding no threat, Bay county schools is going to continue with first week school plans as intended. Security will remain at its current level, and all students are encouraged to attend their classes.
WFSU will continue to monitor this story and provide updates when more information is available.
