Bomb threat hoax called into West Lafayette High School

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Someone called in a bomb threat to West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School about 7:30 a.m. Monday, which kicked off a morning of searching the school.

“The only people in the building were some of the teachers and teachers’ children," West Lafayette Police Chief Troy Harris said. "They hadn’t opened the doors yet, so there (were) very few people actually in the building.”

Those who were inside the school were evacuated, and as students arrived, they were sent to an off-site location, Harris said.

Meanwhile, police searched room by room looking for any threat

“We have two bomb dogs," Harris said of the search. "Our Purdue partners are helping us clear the building.”

Monday's bomb threat was the second time in two months that someone phoned a threat into police targeting West Lafayette's school.

“We tracked one of the calls all the way back to Sweden," Harris said. "We’ll continue to investigate this one as well to see if we can make any tracks on the calls.”

About 80% done with the search by 9 a.m., Harris suspected Monday's threat was a hoax, too. But he admitted that they can't dismiss the possible threat.

“When our children are involved we can't cut any corners or make any assumptions," Harris said.

Purdue police and Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office assisted in the search of the school.

By 9:20 a.m., police began to take down crime scene tape along Grant Street and prepared to open the street.

By 9:30 a.m., students and teachers could be see walking back to the school.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.