2 youths charged in bomb scare: 8th graders reportedly left threatening note at BHS Tuesday
Published 7:34 am Friday, April 15, 2016
Bogalusa Police Chief Joe Culpepper said two eighth graders were taken into custody on Tuesday for making terrorizing threats against the high school, similar to separate threats against the school the day before.
Culpepper said he still doesn’t know who called 911 Monday morning to report a bomb at the high school, but the report triggered a school evacuation and early dismissal.
On Tuesday, just after 10:30 a.m., Culpepper said school administrators found a note in a bathroom, warning of a bomb.
“It said, ‘you still have not found the bomb; police can’t stop this,’” Culpepper said.
The chief praised district administrators for working with his officers and using video footage and handwriting analysis to determine that two boys had left the note in the bathroom.
“Working with the school, we have arrested two juveniles who placed that note in the boys’ bathroom this morning thinking it was a joke and they’d get out of school again,” Culpepper said.
The school was not evacuated on Tuesday, and the chief praised school officials for doing much of the detective work.
“The staff did an outstanding job today in helping us determine the culprit in this latest venture. We are not allowed to interrogate kids without a parent. We can’t even talk to them if we’re planning on accusing them of something without a parent or a guardian being there,” Culpepper said.
Culpepper noted that making terrorizing threats is a felony. He said the two juveniles, whose names were not released due to their age, will go to juvenile court.
He added that whoever called in the initial bomb threat will face the same charge.