Officials at North Adams and Adams Central have alerted parents that school buildings are being evacuated Monday morning due to a bomb threat that reportedly went out to dozens of Indiana schools.
Stay tuned to 92.7 FM for the latest information.
A statement sent to families at North Adams said:
“Out of an abundance of caution, we, along with the other Adams County schools, are moving students to our relocation sites until an assessment of the threat may be made by law enforcement or the decision to release students to home is made.”
Sgt. Brian Walker with Indiana State Police released a statement on the situation Monday:
“The Indiana State Police (Fort Wayne Post and Peru Post) are aware of the school bomb threats that were received by email earlier this morning. Currently ISP personnel are assisting local law enforcement agencies with the precautionary evacuations of the involved schools in both Adams County and Cass County. Additionally, ISP EOD personnel and K9 teams have been requested to assist in clearing those school buildings. *Parents should communicate with their respective school systems via the established means of communications to ascertain whether students will be dismissed early for the day, or not. ISP does not have any involvement in those decisions.”
At Noon, North Adams announced that students would not return to class Monday. The district had begun the process of dismissing student drivers and setting up transportation to take students home.
Meanwhile also just before the noon hour, Adams Central announced that students may be picked up at the following locations: AC Middle and High school students may be picked up at Light House Church, and AC Elementary students may be picked up at the Westside Community Church (formerly Monroe Brethren Church). They do ask parents to please be patient at the pick up locations as they work through the sign out process. Also, all after school activities, practices, and games have been cancelled for today.
North Adams has announced the following reunification procedures…at 11:55, HS drivers and riders were transported back to the HS parking lot to take their cars and leave campus, with law enforcement on site to assist…At 12:30, students who ride regular bus routes will be released via bus to home…At 12:50, car riders, walkers, and students who typically go home with HS drivers can be picked up at the following locations; Parents who have Elementary or MS students should report via Piqua Road at Boundless Church (formerly Common Ground) but NOT BEFORE 12:50. From there, anyone with HS students who need picked up should report to Riverside Center from Jackson Street and leave via Hwy 224. Parents must bring photo ID to reunify with their children.
South Adams has also released their students early and provided the following (we received this just before 1pm)…High school students who drove to school and have their keys on them will be released at 12:15…Students who ride the bus will be picked up at the relocation site and transported approximately 12:30…Parent pick up will take place on the east side of First Missionary Church starting at 12:45. Please enter Door 2 on the east side of the church, walking under the canopy. Upon entering you will need to stop at one of the secretaries to check in. You will need to show ID, and only the people listed on the student contact list are allowed to pick your child up.
–South Adams has announced that all events including games, practices, conditioning sessions, open gyms, and weight lifting for all grade levels are cancelled today.
–Bluffton Schools (BHMSD) has released the following statement during the noon hour:
“There have been NO threats received at BHMSD. Unfortunately, many schools throughout the state received a bomb threat via email today, 1-8-24. As a result, there is concern as to whether BHMSD was affected by the threats. BHMSD received NO threats regarding the safety of our operations; therefore, we will continue to operate our schools under normal procedures. If we learn any additional information, it will be shared. Our thoughts are with our neighbors in Adams County and the approximately 70 other schools in Indiana that received threats and we hope everyone stays safe.”
**1:30pm update:
-Jay County Schools Supt. Jeremy Gulley released the following statement:
“We are aware of regional media reporting about anonymous bomb threats being sent to multiple Indiana school districts this morning. Jay Schools have not received any threats at this time. We maintain an options-based response protocol for all threats in accordance with our Emergency Operations Plans and in partnership with local law enforcement. As always, we maintain vigilance in and around our schools.”
-East Allen, Fort Wayne Community, Northwest Allen, and Southwest Allen School Districts all also received the anonymous bomb threat via email.
-Adams Central Schools released the following statement shortly after 1pm:
“Our re-unification process is going well. We want to thank the community, staff, administration, and local law enforcement for your patience and diligence as we worked through this situation.”