An anonymous bomb threat was called in to Monticello High School at 8:15 a.m. Monday. Albemarle County Police do not have any information about a suspect, but students were given the all-clear to reenter the building by 11:45 a.m. Officials did not find a bomb in the school.
School officials quickly alerted police to the threat, Albemarle County Police spokesperson Carter Johnson said. “School officials were on scene this morning and got [the bomb threat] call around 8:15 [a.m.],” Johnson said. “We took the appropriate steps to close down the school, evacuate the students, and begin the search.”
K-9 units from University Police, County Police, State Police and Capital Police led the search efforts, Johnson said. .
The county fire marshal’s office is taking the lead in the follow-up investigation, Johnson said. But no information is ready to be released publicly, Assistant Fire Marshal Elie Jones said.
“We’re still gathering facts,” Jones said. “I’m hoping to have something I can release [on Tuesday].”
Students were evacuated to the school’s football field and then to Cale Elementary School because of cold temperatures, Johnson said.
“The call was certainly made, but the [bomb] wasn’t found there,” Johnson said. “We wouldn’t have allowed students back in the building if there was a threat” or if a device had been found but removed from the building.
Monticello High School has 1,096 students in grades nine through 12 and 161 staff and faculty members, according to the school’s website .
“Our first concern was clearing the building and making sure students and staff were safe,” Johnson said.
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