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10th grader charged with Phoenixville Area High School bomb threat, evacuation

Published  May 12, 2016 1:17pm EDT
US
FOX 29 Philadelphia

PHOENIXVILLE, PA (WTXF) - A 10th grade boy is facing several criminal charges after police say he was overheard making a comment about having a bomb in his backpack. That led to Phoenixville Area High School being evacuated for two hours, Thursday morning.

Phoenixville police said the boy made the comment at 8:30am, and a school official verified.

Then, police said bomb threat protocols were enacted. Students, faculty and staff were evacuated to a staging area on school grounds, but outside the building. SKYFOX found students in bleachers at the school's football stadium.

Phoenixville Borough and Schuylkill Township police officers secured the school. Explosive detection dogs from the West Caln Police Department and Chester County Sheriff's Department cleared it. No devices were found in the backpack, locker, class room, or anywhere else in the building.

Everyone was allowed back inside by 10:40am.

That 10th grade student was taken into custody. Phoenixville police detectives questioned him, and say he's charged with making terroristic threats plus "other related criminal charges" as a juvenile.