Police Step Up Patrols At Bergen County Schools Following Bomb Threats
HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Bergen County police have beefed up patrols at schools after several bomb threats.
As CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported, students returned to school Thursday morning in Leonia, one day after a bomb threat to the Board of Education there forced the evacuations of Anna C. Scott Elementary School, Leonia Middle School and Leonia High School.
"You think about it. It worried me a little bit," said Maria Andrew, a mother.
"If they've reassured us everything's OK, then I take them at their word," another mother said.
The superintendent told parents her office received a bomb threat call after 1 p.m. Wednesday, but it cited no specific school. Officials decided to evacuate all three schools and dismiss students early as a precaution.
"I came to get my children as soon as I can," said Sandra, a mother. "They were very scared. That's all I can say. It was frightening."
"They seem to be doing a good job of keeping the kids calm and giving them as much information as they had," Andrew said.
Leonia students were not alone. Four other Bergen County towns also received bomb threats Wednesday, according to county police.
In addition to the Leonia Board of Education, investigators say someone called in bomb threats to Garfield High School, Garfield police headquarters, Hackensack High School, Fort Lee High School and Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood. Police are not sure if the police headquarters threat is related to the others because it came in an hour before.
County police said the school calls came in within 15 to 20 minutes of each other, and their bomb technicians and K-9 units were dispatched to investigate.
All the locations were cleared, and nothing suspicious was found, police said.
"It's a very, very dangerous world today," Leslie, who witnessed an evacuation in Leonia, told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck. "It's not a prank. It's probably a horrible person who did something."
Kevin, who works in a school, said those responsible should face the consequences.
"If it's something just done on a lark, something done just for the fun, they should be punished, absolutely," he said.
A county police spokesman told Grymes on Thursday morning that he was not aware of any arrests in the case. The FBI is also involved. A spokesperson there would only say that its investigation continues.
Authorities are also investigating a possible link to bomb threats made to five Massachusetts schools about an hour earlier, Schuck reported.
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