UPDATE: Three juveniles have been arrested as a result of the incident. The names of the individuals have not been released.
For the second time in less than two weeks and for the fourth time in five weeks on Thursday, a Whitewater school received a threat that put the entire School District on heightened awareness.
At approximately 10:45 a.m., the Whitewater Police Department responded to a report at the Middle School regarding a written bomb threat. The school was placed on lockdown as school staff and police searched the building.
“We take safety very seriously, and (we) implemented district safety protocols to assess the report,” Elworthy said in a statement released at approximately 2:28 p.m. Thursday.
No evidence of a bomb or any sort of device that could cause harm or damage was found.
The school went back to its regular activities at noon.
“As we did with the High School students, the Middle School students will have an assembly tomorrow to discuss the seriousness of the threats. As a parent, I know these situations impact our students and families in many ways,” Elworthy wrote.
Also in the statement released Thursday afternoon, Elworthy acknowledged that “today’s initial communication should have been sent earlier.”
“Moving forward, we will send an initial message and then have a follow-up message. The initial message will notify parents of a hold/lock with more information to come,” Elworthy wrote. “Keep in mind, we are only able to communicate information that has been 100-percent confirmed.”
In the statement, he cautioned parents and families in the district that information sent via social media or text messages will always travel faster than an official school statement.
“We continually look for ways to improve, and we welcome suggestions,” Elworthy wrote.
During the incident, all district buildings were placed on heightened awareness.
“As a district, we are as disappointed as you are that these types of situations continue to occur,” Elworthy wrote. “With every situation, we have taken advantage of the learning opportunities these situations present. We make it a priority to error on the side of caution.”
No arrests have been made at this time and the incident is being investigated.
Anyone with information that would assist with the investigation should contact the Whitewater Police Department at 262-473-0555 or leave an anonymous tip at http://www.p3tips.com.
