Bomb Threat Shakes Up RJ Grey Junior High School

A bomb threat sent students and staff streaming out of RJ Grey Junior High School just after lunch on Tuesday this week.

According to Police Chief Frank Widmayer, the investigation into who might have scrawled the threat in the boy's bathroom located off the cafeteria is ongoing and so limited information is being made public. The police were notified by phone at 1:13 pm and arrived with the Acton Fire Department and bomb-sniffing dogs from the State Police Canine Squad.

The message, said Widmayer, referenced “something about 'a loud noise at 2:06 pm' which is the time school gets out.”

Upon discovery of the message, administrators pulled a fire alarm to evacuate the building. Principal Craig Hardimon showed the responding officer the message. The students were escorted to an undisclosed area where they remained until buses arrived to take them home at the normal time. The students were not allowed back in the building and all their backpacks and other items remained at the school.

In a statement issued by Craig Hardimon, RJ Grey Junior High School Principal, the school noted that all procedures were followed. “At 1:10 today,” it says, “RJG staff and students evacuated the building following all emergency procedures for a bomb threat. The building was searched by a combination of police and fire departments, including an explosive detection dog. All safety procedures were followed and law enforcement has determined that the threat was baseless.”

"Police and fire were great and Banjo, the dog, sniffed the entire building," said Superintendent Steve Mills. "I reopened the school to the public at 2:45. It was difficult, but we get through the best we can."

Widmayer indicated that that students will be asked if they have any information.

Bomb threats are not uncommon in the schools, with the last one likely being sometime last year, said Chief Widmayer. They tend to come in the warmer weather as a prank done by kids who want to get out for the day. Despite having school resource officers in the schools constantly who can talk to the kids about the seriousness of such a threat, it still happens. “What is unusual is to have them in the junior high,” he said. “They usually come from the high school.”

Although the department did not necessarily think they would find anything, they were not taking any chances. The teams are tasked with looking for anything in the wrong place, like a backpack where it does not belong. From there, investigators do not touch a bag and will call in the trained dogs to inspect the packages for any indications of explosives.

“We were there until at least 3 pm,” said Chief Widmayer. “It was quite time consuming and used a lot of resources.”