NAMPA, Idaho — All Vallivue School District and Emmett School District schools were canceled Wednesday morning after receiving anonymous bomb threats, according to officials with the districts. Both school districts have since been cleared by police and the incident was determined to have been fake.
In an update at 1:22 p.m., Emmett School District officials stated the cancelations and evacuations were prompted by a bomb threat sent anonymously via email to multiple Treasure Valley school districts. The Canyon County Sheriff's Office confirmed the claim.
Caldwell Police Captain Robert Rosin said that such large-scale threats are a massive use of limited resources.
"Ultimately, this disrupts students' ability to learn in the classroom. Our job, our duty. Our mission as school resource officers is to make sure that students can come to school and learn peacefully and safely," Rosin said. "These types of events are extremely disrupting, to not only police department functions, but to the overall mission of education in childhood."
The first cancelation of classes was for Vallivue schools, followed by the Emmett School District schools.
Vallivue School District
At 7:36 a.m., Vallivue School District received a direct threat to all school campuses, according to the district. As a precaution, schools canceled classes and students were dismissed for the day.
Nampa police, student resource officers, and the bomb commander investigated the Vallivue threat to determine whether the threat was legitimate.
At 10:05 a.m. Wednesday, the Nampa Police Department confirmed that the Vallivue School District threat was not credible. Police added "no threats were identified" and the information was sent beyond Vallivue schools and Canyon County.
VSD said all secondary school students were sent home. Students that were on buses at the time of cancelation were rerouted home. Elementary students who were already at the schools at the time of cancelation were brought to the schools' designated evacuation locations.
Parents picking up their children must show identification, according to VSD.
Emmett School District
The Emmett School District evacuated all of the district schools at 10:10 a.m. Wednesday morning after receiving the same bomb threat as Vallivue.
In a 1:22 p.m. update, Emmett officials said all district schools were cleared and safe. All after-school activities will proceed as scheduled and all school classes will resume as usual on Thursday.
The statement praised the swift reaction of the staff who "successfully evacuated 2500 students in 7 different buildings in approximately one hour."
"A few students remain at our evacuation site. Any students remaining at evacuation sites will be bused home at the early release times," the Emmett School District said in its 12 p.m. update. "As of this moment, there are very few students who will potentially need busing. School is canceled for the remainder of the day."
The Emmett School District initially sent the following to parents of students in the district via text and email:
There has been an anonymous threat received by multiple school districts in the Treasure Valley. To ensure the safety of our students and staff, schools are being evacuated as a precaution. Everyone is safe. Students may be picked up at these locations. Please check your email for continued updates.
- Shadow Butte--LDS church--980 W. Central.
- Carberry and Butte View--LDS church--1001 E. 2nd St.
- Emmett Middle School and Emmett High School--Armory at Gem County Fairgrounds
- Sweet--Fire Station
- Ola--Community Center
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