February 1, 2008
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Bomb Threat
Edit: at the end
Last week our local community high school had a bomb threat. My friend, who still has a daughter there told me about it. The teachers were all ordered to check their E mails and they were told that the school was on lock down because of the bomb threat.
Apparently, one teacher kept on teaching, which is pretty, teacher, hard core. Two Juniors were arrested for the crime and were released on a $100,000 bond. They had sent an E mail from a school computer under a false identity. And then another one from one of the kid's house. They said in one statement they wanted an early release day.
What ever happened to ditching school like we used to do back in the day?
I told expunge ( ex husband) I would have been very angry they kept the kids in school, if I still had a kid going there. My point was, if it was real, they are sitting ducks. He said the school was correct because if you send the kids outside there might be someone with a gun.
I read a few articles about the bomb threat. One article allowed people to comment, like a blog. Many people were making comments about how these were two nice boys, smart kids, and that it was a prank and they are only 17. Others were saying they should be tried as adults, give them the chair, etc...
They could be facing 15 years in prison. As usual I am somewhere in the middle. No way should they get a, " ha ha, joke gone wrong boys, one week detention" But I'm not sure they deserve a full 15 years either. I'm glad I'm not a judge and won't be on that jury.
I do take issue with the commenters saying the kids are ' smart" though. In this day and age? That is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard of.
I still think the school should have been evacuated.
What do you think?
Also, what do you think should happen to the boys? I'm interested in your opinons, even if you disagree with me, and are wrong.
One of the teachers sent me this
Comments (32)
I understand where expunge is coming from. But there should have been some other way than keeping them in their seats.
@nevragn -
Yeah, maybe they should build a bomb shelter.
About a year ago there was a bomb threat in the high school my girls attend and the boys that did it called the Board Of Ed and told them there was a bomb in the school. Needless to say the school went on lockdown and the kids were inside waiting to hear the all clear. I think an evacuation would have just caused panic and too much commotion not to mention some kids who would be stupid enough to try something else stupid. But keeping them locked in isn't safe either if it were a real bomb. The boys were arrested, and charged with terroristic threats, false claim to the bomb threat, and all they received were slaps and sentenced to probation, community service hours, not allowed to attend any school in the county again...so guess where they ended up! At my veggie land to get their GED. Stupid. I think they should have served some jail time not the 15 years though.
Our school system does lockdowns as well, not evacuations. They prosecute here as felonies, as well they should be. You have to find a way to stop the days off - the reason these kids do them in the first place. Corral them into the parking lot or football stadium, make them stand there for hours while the school is searched, and then peer pressure will keep others from calling in again.
Those boys definitely need to take responsibility for their actions and learn that it is a SERIOUS thing that they did. How stupid.
I am not sure how this should come about...maybe a big fat fine, a little jail time and a long time of community service.
Absolutely they should have evacuated!! How stupid is that?? I think the kids should be expelled for the remainder of the school year and sent to alternative school. Just my opinion. We had this happen here last year and the school cameras caught the kid calling. Hope you have a great Friday!
I'd rather chance a mad gunman than a bomb.
I must admit, I'm pretty dumb, but I'm not that dumb. If I want out of school I pull the sick card, or just hope I have an ortho. appointment.
I'd make them do community service. They would "volunteer" for Habitat for Humanity.
We had a few bomb threats in Intermediate School after September 11th. I figured it was a hoax.. because I'm just smart like that.
Wow what morons. II also think 15 years in prison is a bit much but yes, definitely expel them and make them do lots and lots of community service... especially in a way that will help real survivors of violence. Maybe then those boys will learn why that was a FUCKING STUPID thing to do (pardon my language) and even if they don't, at least the survivors will get something out of it....
@heart_of_gold2006 -
Thanks, good points. Slpas don't cut it, but yeah 15 years is a long time.
@Emjay1 -
good idea
@nessi1 - Makes sense to me thanks for your input
@MandMsMom -
OMG he called from school? How dumb is that?
@DiscordInTheGarden -
Probably but you never know, if it's a hoax or not
@chantyshira -
I agree 100 %
I think if the police were there, they could have done a sweep of the grounds to make sure there was no crazed gunman--then evacuated! If I would have been in that school and heard there was a bomb (although I'm hoping they didn't tell the kids), I would have been pretty adamant that I leave! If *my* daughter was in that situation, as her parent I would have been pretty adamant to get her out of there. But, I can understand the logic of keeping them in there. Although, like I said--they could have checked the grounds and then got the kids out.
I think community service should do the trick. They shouldn't get punished as much as a murderer.
@MorningAngel -
I think they did tell the kids because they had to stay in the class they were in , not switch, and no kids could leave ( like for lunch or free period). they didn't contact parents, even afterwards with a note, which would have made me mad.
@nicumom -
I agree community service, but I also think they need to be detained in some kind of facility for awhile ( a psych unit maybe) but not prison.
They should have evacuated the school. They should have a plan in place...to be safe. I think the boys should do community service and maybe do one of those tough love things (forget what it's called) where some prisoners show them what prison is really like.
Not to be callous, but a gunman can only pick off a few students whereas a bomb can kill hundreds. I vote for evacuation, just like they did when we were kids.
And yes the boys should be punished (according to their ages) but lets get realistic here. Everyone today is so paranoid about terrorists that they have taken some things just too far. These kids are not terrorists and really, if terrorists wanted to blow up a school, they'd just do it. Give them a large fine definitely, even a year of community service doing something that would positively impact those living in fear or in violence as someone else suggested, expell them for the rest of the year. Not a friggin FELONY charge though, maybe if it was an adult doing it but not for kids. I have mixed feelings about having kids permanently expelled. It's hard enough to keep kids in school and if they are not in school, then where are they? I think that in most cases it causes more harm than good. Now I'm going on... anyway, that's my two cents.
On punishment: I think prison time is too much...but definitely something severe.... more than suspension or expelling... but something definitely humiliating mixed with something that would impact their hearts and minds.... like working in a burn unit or... with those who have been in bombs and lived...
On evacuation..... TOTALLY EVACUATE... one previous commenter stated that a gunman would only take a few while the bomb would get everyone...good point...but the other commenter that said the police could've totally searched the grounds first.... made sure there wasn't a gunman? I like that idea much better.....
And if this happened at our school and I wasn't informed of it... not even by note??? OMG... I would be livid... LIVID.
@PrincessFiveandDime -
Good idea, scared straight. Or they could have to go to boot camp
@soul_survivor -
Good points, thanks for weighing in.
@bubblysox -
Oh I know you would, the kids are old enough to tell their parents, but STILL... no note, I would have been livid too.
Those must be some very fine parents and grandparents who raised those boys. They can give themselves a self-congratulatory pat on the back for the fine job that they have done.
Seventeen is old enough to know right from wrong and they should certainly be punished. Maybe lock them up until they're twenty-one with the stipulation that the next time they mess up, we throw away the key.
After the explanation about how moving the children may cause more deaths than keeping them still, I guess I'll have to agree. I also agree it's a very tough call.
Once again I have to agree with you, these kids were not "smart" if they were, they would have ditched like the rest of the reasonable teenage population -- I also agree, I don't think they should get the chair for one stupid act, but they should be punished enough to know that their stupid act was the height of stupidity.
As for the evacuation, the teacher's note makes sense, logically. Emotionally - I want my kids the heck out of there if it's a dangerous place. I think sometime it's just nigh impossible to override the protective mother gene...
I really do not understand why kids even are tempted to do this sort of "crime?" It is a stupid STUPID thing to do. I have noticed an increase of bomb threats here in our area too. It was really popular when my (almost) 20 year old was in middle school but then the trend died down for a long time. She hated when it happened because it HAS to be taken seriously but you just know it is a prank from a kid who could be sitting right next to you in school. It turned out to be a girl in my daughter's class. She was from a bad family......with a history of trouble makers. She had to go to an alternitive school for awhile. When she got out of middle school she discovered drugs, sex and rock & roll.........her bomb threat days were over. She did end up graduating with her class.......then delivered her baby a couple of weeks later. I really believe when a kid does something like this they are silently screaming for attention. But they should be punished along with counciling. As far as whether the school should or shouldn't be evacuated.....I leave that decision to the experts. (sorry this is so long)
They can't just slap them on the hand. Probation and community service? Although I can't help but wonder if that opens it up for other kids to copycat.
@forwhomthebelsentolls -
It's hard for me to blame the parents and even harder for me to blame GRANDPARENTS. I'm sure they did the best they could.
@fratmom -
Well in this case at least, they didn't have a choice ( see edit)
@azcason -
Yeah, I hear you. Too bad parents even have to worry about this stuff
@Berlyblake67 -
No worries about lengthy comments, I am happy you weighed in. Yeah, I suppose the experts do know what they are doing.
@LonaMay -
I hate that we have such a scary world.
In reply to your edit - WTH?????? Is she freakin' serious?
I was prepared to be outraged, but the explanation makes sense to me. The ER where I work gets bomb threats sometimes and we have to carry on as usual. They make all the visitors leave (without telling them there's a bomb) and discharge as many patients as possible and move as many admitted patients up to the floor that they can, but they don't evacuate everyone and the employees have to keep working. I guess it's kind of funny when they bring the bomb sniffing dogs through the patient rooms. Kind of, "Oh, don't mind that dog, he's just going to sniff around for a minute...nothing to see here."
When I was 17, I knew not to do crap like that. Even way back then we knew that sort of stuff was serious.
The question is how to deal with this. Do you put them in prison where they will just learn to be criminals?
My idea would be what's called "shock probation." You give them a jail sentence of say 5 years. You put them in jail for a time to get the feel for what the place is like. They you let them out with the rest of their sentence on probation.
It is a dilemma about appropriate punishment. I read some where that a good flogging works on fools but I'm not sure it will work on stupid people and dummies.
OMG! Do you really wnat my opinion? It will be longer than your entire BLOG~!!!
Been there, done that. Still pissed at the school, still HATE the pricipal...the "f" wad! Had a bomb threat, had the kids that made the bomb threat threatening another "Columbine", both were arrested and sentenced,,,it wasn't a prank. Principal didn't even NOTIFY the parents that this occured...WE found out from our students or the NEWS! Nice huh?
Fry them! Don't play with peoples lives...this is no joking matter anymore.
False fire alarms usually have people calmly leaving the building after all the practice fire alarms. Bomb threat evacuation is not usually practiced and so maybe if it isn't done too often it may be a good thing...
Sorry...1 more thing...It is illegal to shout "Fire" in a theater as a prank.
How much worse is this?
@SoonerRose -
actually it's a he and I agree, if you don't have time to get the kids out, the safest place probably is the classrooms. When we think of bomb I think were thinking of war bombs from the sky. These are probably pipe bombs, and would probably be put in a locker etc..
I do think the school should have notified the parents after the threat was over though, and explained why they did it the way they did.
@Daylily02 -
After I got that E mail from the teacher it makes more sense to me, but they really should have one of those parent info meetings and explain procedures for saftey.
@ronlawhouston -
Five years is long enough to get raped etc.. though and that could make them more screwed up. I say try them as juvies, put them in kiddie jail for six mo. then they have to have treatment for five years and community service, something like that.
@blackheartedforce -
I don't think we flog in the US.
@flaminredhead -
I have to agree with the school and communication. They should know after all these years the kids are going to tell them and it's going to sound much worse ( not that that's not bad as it is but you know) damage control school people duh.
@PPhilip -
Well they should do shooting and bomb drills now sad but true
@flaminredhead -
This is pretty bad. And they should be punished, I'm just on the fence as to what it should be.
Let me get this straight. Kids have 5 minutes between classes to get from one side of the building to another, stop at their locker for books, and use the restroom if they need to. But eight minutes isn't long enough to get kids out of a building that might have a bomb in it? I think the administrators (or the reader who said that) need a reality check.
Comments are closed.