BUCYRUS – Barring any inclement weather, students in Bucyrus will return to school tomorrow following a bomb threat via Twitter on Thursday morning.
Bucyrus Superintendent Kevin Kimmel stated in a press conference in the Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday that the Secondary School building was given the all-clear at 10 a.m. this morning, with the Elementary building following at 11:30 a.m.
“I want to assure our parents, students, staff members and the Bucyrus community that our buildings are safe and secure,” Kimmel said.
The Bucyrus City School District received a bomb threat via Twitter at 4:53 a.m. on Thursday morning, prompting the district to close all buildings at 7 a.m. and inform staff members at 7:15 a.m. about the threat. The Allen County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol dispatched bomb-sniffing dogs to both the Elementary and Secondary School buildings at approximately 7:45 a.m.
Bucyrus Police Chief David Koepke noted in Thursday’s press conference that four dogs were able to clear both buildings in a matter of hours.
“We started out with one dog, then Allen County arrived with a second dog as one of the dogs had to take a break,” Koepke said. “There’s a limit to the endurance of dogs we have, and we bring in as many as we can to make sure the building is safe.”
The Bucyrus Police Department, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Fire Department, the Crawford County Emergency Management Agency, and the Cleveland FBI office all assisted in sweeping and securing the Bucyrus district buildings.
Kimmel stated all after-school activities for Thursday have been canceled to ensure student safety, but the district intends to resume classes on Friday.
“Any cancellation tomorrow would be strictly due to inclement weather,” Kimmel said.
Moving forward, the Bucyrus Police Department plans to reach out to Homeland Security and other agencies for assistance in the investigation of the threat. Koepke stated at minimum, the offender is likely to be charged with a felony charge of inducing panic.
“Together, we coordinated response to this very serious incident, which we take seriously and will investigate to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “It was a terrible thing. We will not take it lightly.”
Koepke added that the bomb threat was also a strain on resources. On the school’s part, Kimmel noted the bomb threat cost the district approximately $30,000 in lost salaries and benefits Thursday, not to mention a loss of instruction to students.
“We have better, more important things to do when someone is so inconsiderate as to call in a hoax,” Koepke said.
