A bomb threat Thursday caused Columbus High School students and staff to evacuate.
City Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton said a thorough inspection of the campus yielded no explosives, and authorities issued an all-clear at about 3 p.m.
Columbus Municipal School District Superintendent Philip Hickman said a stranger called the threat into the school office at about noon. Columbus police and firefighters responded moments later.
Four police dogs — two from Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department and two from Columbus Air Force Base — also responded to the scene, Shelton said, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted.
“We evacuated the students to the football stadium, which is a secure location,” Hickman told The Dispatch. “We were able to feed them there because this happened during our lunch hour. The students were well-behaved. Our evacuation plan panned out very well.”
Hickman said the district alerted parents of the situation via phone and email, and requested that no students be checked out.
“We thank parents for their support,” he said. “We let them know every child is safe and accounted for. We asked that no one be checked out so everyone can be accounted for, and everyone cooperated with us. It takes a team effort, in times like this.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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