Threats cause evacuation and police search of West Lafayette High School

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A threat to West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School about 7:45 a.m. Tuesday forced its evacuation, prompting a massive police response to search the campus.

"It's looking like a hoax at this point," West Lafayette Police Chief Troy Harris said about 9:30 a.m. after two searches of the high school and junior high buildings.

The FBI had agents on scene, too, Harris said, noting they told him this sort of hoax has been used across the country.

The initial threat was called into the school about 7:45 a.m. and alleged a bomb at the school. This was followed by a second threat to police dispatchers from a person who claimed to be inside the school with a gun, according to a West Lafayette police news release published just before noon Tuesday.

Officers immediately entered the school and began a search, Harris said in the news release.

After an hour of searching, officers had found nothing to substantiate the threat, Harris said. After an initial search officers switched to a methodical room-by-room canvass of the schools on Grant Street.

Officers from police agencies across the county were on site assisting in the search, Harris said.

About two hours after the initial threat, police reopened traffic on Grant Street, which passes in front of the school, but officers continued searching inside as a precaution.

West Lafayette schools published information indicating that students close enough to walk home or who drove to school were dismissed for the day. Other students were taken to safe places.

All students were accounted for and no one was injured, Harris said, adding that the students have been reunited with their parents.

Parents frantically parked their cars near Mackey Arena and the surrounding neighborhoods, then rushed to the arena's front door searching for their children. Once released from the school's custody, parents hugged their children and wiped the tears from their faces.

“My heart is still pumping. I’m still nervous and scared,” parent Leroy Riemenschneider said as he waited outside Mackey Arena.

The panic still hadn't left Riemenschneider, who was awoken by the news of the school threat. Moments after hearing the news he jumped into his vehicle with his wife and began calling his child to ensure he was safe.

“It’s crazy because when you look around the world and see what’s going on, you have to take these threats seriously," Riemenschneider said. “This is a beautiful town, we don’t need these kinds of threats.”

He applauded how fast the West Lafayette and Purdue police responded to this threat and how quickly they organized the student pick-up situation at Mackey Arena.

“It was communication and that’s what got this flowing," Purdue University Police Chief Lesley Wiete said of the coordination for the student pick-up zone. "We were able to get everyone on the same page really quickly."

Christen Fiechter lives a few houses east of the school and was unaware of what was happening half a block away.

"I'm not going to go outside with my kids at the moment," she joked. "I don't know what's going on."

She felt confident that the police had the situation under control.

"It seems like there are plenty of authorities on scene," Fiechter said, "and I assume they're doing all they can to handle it. I'm confident it will be OK."

By 9:30 a.m., Harris said officers had finished the search of the building and were starting a second search. He also noted that bomb-detecting dogs were being sent to the scene to check the school.

One neighbor living across the street from the school said he was in the basement and was unaware of the police presence until people texted him with the news. It gave him some cause for concern.

As a precaution, West Lafayette Intermediate School was locked down, and classes were canceled for the elementary school, according to the school's posting.

In a news release, Harris said the threat remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the threat is asked to call West Lafayette police at 765-775-5200 or to leave an anonymous tip, call the We Tip Hotline at 800-782-7463.

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

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Threats cause evacuation and police search of West Lafayette High School