A Columbus teen has been arrested for calling in bomb threats to area schools on Friday, according to a Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office press release.
The 15-year-old male, whose identity authorities have not released, will face a juvenile court charge of false reporting of an explosive or a weapon of mass destruction. But three adults in the home where the calls were made face charges of drug trafficking after deputies found 2.5 pounds of marijuana there.
Separate bomb threats were phoned in to Columbus High School, New Hope Middle School and West Lowndes High School between 8:08 and 9:15 a.m. Those campuses were evacuated, and law enforcement, with the assistance of a team from Columbus Air Force Base, employed canines to search for explosive devices.
None were found at any campus, and students returned to class after each campus was given the all-clear.
Investigators with LCSO, Columbus Police Department and analysts from the Mississippi Department of Homeland security traced the calls to a Florence Street residence. There, they learned the name of the 15-year-old and also found the marijuana, for which Shawn Curtis Young, 51; Nicole Ozella Young, 50; and Xzaver Deshun Morris, 30, were arrested.
Investigators then contacted the guardians of the 15-year-old, who was brought to the sheriff’s office. There, he confessed to calling in the threats to CHS and NHMS.
LCSO has identified another suspect in the West Lowndes bomb threat, who will be questioned, the press release said.
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