WILMINGTON — A juvenile is in custody after a bomb hoax Wednesday at Wilmington Middle School, the police chief reported.
Both the middle and high school buildings were evacuated, said Wilmington Police Chief Duane Weyand.
“Within 30 minutes the responsible party was taken into custody,” he said.
The bomb threat consisted of a message written on a bathroom wall at the middle school, according to Weyand. School officials began evacuation and the notification procedures. Detectives began investigating upon arrival, while patrol units aided with the evacuation, the chief said.
“While the school was being cleared, it became apparent that a juvenile student was responsible for the incident. The school was cleared and shortly thereafter we had the responsible party in custody for the bomb hoax,” Weyand stated Wednesday afternoon in a media release.
The juvenile will have a charge or charges filed against them later in the week by the Clinton County Juvenile Prosecutor.
The juvenile remained in custody at the time of the media release.
“We can’t thank the school enough for their assistance. I can’t stress the importance of having a school resource officer on scene to aid in these types of calls,” said Weyand.
Wilmington City Schools Superintendent Ron Sexton stated that these incidents are very serious.
“The kids need to learn that there are severe consequences if they’re caught … they’re always caught,” said Sexton. “It disrupts the parents, the students, the instructors. We take this very serious.”
Sexton gave credit to the students for the maturity they displayed during the evacuation.
