Bomb threat closes Wilmington schools

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Bomb threats were reported by officials Monday in Clinton and Fayette counties, following another bomb threat that was reported last week in Clinton County.

In Wilmington, law enforcement is investigating a reported bomb threat made at the Wilmington City Schools (WCS) Monday morning.

Around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, WCS Superintendent Jim Brady sent out a message indicating the district received reports of a bomb threat at the high school and middle school campus. Kim DeWeese, treasurer of Wilmington City Schools, told the News Journal that someone called the district secretary saying there was a bomb, and then hung up.

All schools in the district were closed for the day.

DeWeese said the students who were dropped off by the bus Monday morning were picked up around 10:45 a.m. at an alternate location, students who drove themselves would leave the same way, and those dropped off by parents would be picked up by them at the alternate location.

No other details were immediately available

In Fayette County, several businesses at the U.S. Route 35/Interstate 71 intersection were evacuated Monday afternoon due to a bomb threat called into Starbucks that was later determined to be a hoax.

At around 2:30 p.m., the threat was made by a call from an unidentified number, according to authorities. Starbucks employees said there was a package in the store’s mailbox and another container in the back of the store.

“The store employees said they weren’t expecting the packages and the employees don’t open the mail that comes to the store. Management handles that,” said Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth following the investigation. “So at that point, concern was raised because the threat was made and the employees didn’t know what was inside the packages. Confirmation on the contents needed to be made. But it turned out that the packages were legitimate.”

The Franklin County Bomb Squad was called in to investigate the scene.

“Franklin County has the technology to fully investigate and make sure there’s no real threat,” said Stanforth. “They brought their robots and X-ray equipment to ensure that there was no explosive material, which there wasn’t.”

The businesses that share a building with Starbucks — Subway and Chipotle — evacuated during the investigation, as did the nearby Wendy’s and Taco Bell. Destination Outlets was not impacted by the investigation.

S.R. 435 was closed for approximately a half hour while authorities were on the scene. The scene was cleared by around 5:30 p.m. There are currently no suspects in the matter.

Along with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and Franklin County Bomb Squad, the Jefferson Township and Silvercreek fire departments responded to the scene.

“Everyone did good work,” Stanforth said. “The main thing is everyone went home safely.”

Back in Wilmington, a doctor’s office was evacuated and the building cleared by police within 40 minutes last Wednesday after a bomb threat was called in.

Wilmington Police Chief Ron Cravens told AIM Media Midwest that the woman who made the threat was quickly identified and was being detained on a 72-hour mental health evaluation for the incident that began around 8:57 a.m. at Christ Hospital Physicians at 1184 W. Locust St.

Cravens said the woman will be charged with a crime. He added that the WPD is familiar with the woman due to previous incidents.

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