Threat Prompts Searches of D.C. Schools

WASHINGTON -- Two bomb threats prompted a search of every school in D.C. Friday morning, but one official believes the threat may be just a prank.

"We're going to go to every school that exists within Washington, D.C.," Metropolitan Police spokesman Joe Gentile told WTOP.

By 11:30 a.m., D.C. school officials said nothing suspicious had been found.

According to the FBI, there were actually two threats. The first came in an e-mail, while the second was a phone call to Metropolitan police. The FBI tells WTOP it's standing by to assist. Its agents will not accompany D.C. police during the initial walkthroughs, but will respond as needed. The FBI will be involved in trying to find out who sent the threats.

Gentile says the threat, which was received before 6 a.m., indicated that five bombs were located at five D.C. schools. He says the e-mail did not designate what schools or even what type of schools were involved. No schools have been evacuated.

In searching the schools, Gentile says officers are working security officers and maintenance workers. Other agencies, including the U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Capitol Police, are ready to assist as needed.

"If we find anything suspicious, and we need to, we will bring in a bomb dog," Gentile says. "This is all precautionary. We're going to go through the schools and see if there's anything in there, especially in this day and age. Decisions will have to be made based on the circumstances at the time."

"It's not a homeland security issue, at least it doesn't appear to be," Tony Bullock, a spokesman for D.C. Mayor Tony Williams, tells WTOP.

Bullock says the threat is likely to be a prank, but officials have to assume that it is not.

"It's being handled as a local, one-time prank, and students are being kept inside under the shelter in place policy," District of Columbia Public School spokeswoman Prenell Neeley tells The Associated Press. "We're following the lead of police."

"The city is doing the best we can under the circumstances," D.C. Council member Adrian Fenty tells WTOP. "You don't want to cause a state of alarm, but we I'm glad we're getting this information out."

D.C. Council member Kevin Chavous, who chairs the council's education committee, says it is "not totally unusual" for the school system to get threats.

"There have been random threats off and on, in different parts of the government. This is something that was focused on the schools," he says.

Principals at 30 area Catholic schools are walking their school grounds, looking for anything suspicious as they wait for police to arrive, Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Washington Archdiocese, tells WTOP.

Gibbs says it's about the fourth time this time that the schools have received some type of anonymous threat this year.

"The guidance we're getting from the police is to stay calm," she says.

D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Margret Kellems will provide an update on the situation at an 11:30 a.m. news briefing.

(Copyright 2004 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)