Pacific High Evacuated Thursday

Pacific High School was evacuated Thursday after a student notified an assistant principal that he had discovered a threat on the inside stall door in a boys restroom.

The teen found the graffiti at approximately noon, according to Superintendent Randy George.

The message indicated that an explosion would take place at the high school between noon and 2 p.m.

The Missourian was alerted to the threat from Facebook messages.

Students were evacuated to the football field bleachers and parents were notified of the threat and evacuation by School Reach, the district’s phone message system.

Pacific police and firefighters made a thorough search of the building and found nothing, George said.

However, the superintendent did ask Police Chief Matt Mansell if bomb-sniffing dogs could be taken through the building as an added precaution.

Chief Mansell secured the use of two bomb-sniffing police dogs from St. Louis Lambert Field. The dogs arrived at the school at 2:30 p.m. After a 2 1/2-hour search, nothing was found.

A checkout system for students was set up at the entrance to the athletic field. Students who had driven to school were allowed to leave. Parents also were told they could come and pick up students.

Students who normally ride the bus were transported home at the usual time at 2:20 p.m.

Following the search with the dogs, a second School Reach call was made to parents notifying them that the building would be open until 6 p.m. Thursday for students to retrieve backpacks, books, cellphones, keys and any other item they had left in classrooms.

All the classrooms were locked to secure the personal property that teachers and students had left in the room.

Students who returned to retrieve items were escorted to the classrooms to pick up their property.

“It was not a day we would want, but all our systems worked and all of our employees did an outstanding job,” George said.