"Hoax-Call" Threats to Five High Schools

Update #2
I spoke with SPS Communications head, Jacque Coe, about what happened.  She didn't flesh much out but said it was a recording that was played, all the high schools got the phone call about the same time and it was an adult voice (as far as they could tell.)

end of update.


Update from SPS Communications:

The schools were:
Roosevelt, Ingraham, Nathan Hale, Ballard, Garfield

All of the schools aside from Nathan Hale were already out for the day when the calls were received. But Nathan Hale dismissed on time.

SPD responded immediately to each location to investigate.

No students were involved. There were no injuries.

All after-school activities will continue as usual.

End of update

This apparently happened around 3 pm.  I had a report that there were police helicopters over Jane Addams.

Dear Nathan Hale families,

I wanted to inform you that five high schools in our district received what Seattle Police are calling a hoax “robo-call” threat this afternoon. The call came in after the other high schools had already dismissed for the day. We were still in session and the Seattle Police Department told us to evacuate the building and we sent students home at 3:05 PM.

Seattle police responded immediately to all the schools that received the call. No students were involved. Police will continue to investigate and secure our campus.

All afterschool activities have been cancelled for today. We expect evening activities to resume.

Please know that we take safety in our buildings very seriously; the well-being of our students is our top priority. I realize any talk of violence is a cause for concern and we will continue to investigate to assure you that we are committed to doing everything we can to keep our students safe at school. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to speak with parents and guardians directly.

Sincerely,

Jill

Jill Hudson, Ed.D., Principal

Comments

Anonymous said…
From the KOMO4 website:

A similar hoax robo-threat call was received at Marysville-Pilchuck High School just before the final bell rung. Students there were released a little early and their after school activities were canceled, the Marysville School District said. After school activities were canceled there.

Investigators later determined the phone number used to make the threat in Marysville matched the number used to make the threats in Seattle and at other schools across not only Washington, but three-to-five other states, Marysville School District officials said.

Investigators have determined all the threats are a hoax.

-North-end Mom
Chris said…
My husband was waiting outside Nathan Hale for school to get out when about 15 police cars, including the black SUVs, arrived, along with Channel 7 news helicopter. My daughter had already left school and said there was no lockdown. My son was still inside. Police were all over the place in the halls but still no lockdown. We had no idea what was happening and it was disconcerting to say the least. They were able to leave normally. Why send all that response if they were sure it was a hoax? They had a lockdown last week for half an hour when a robber/student was chased through the hall, after which my daughter said the principal came on the intercom and said a student had been arrested, laughing while she did it. The students found that pretty offputting, and were pretty freaked out yesterday too. Could have been handled better, it seems.
Anonymous said…
You can't have a lockdown with a bomb threat. You need to get people out of the building - and fast. I agree - it has been a rough couple of weeks at NHHS. -NP
Unknown said…
Nowadays threatening others and killing is really a common problem around the world. You can take help from the firearms safety training classes to make yourself and others feel safe. You can also take help from the MA Gun License to make people around you feel more safe and free to move.

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