By James Massara
BUCYRUS – Bucyrus Police Chief David Koepke, Crawford County Sheriff Scott Kent and Bucyrus City School Superintendent Kevin Kimmel joined together in Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium to share Bucyrus City School District once again was considered safe to resume session.
The press conference was hosted to share the results of a day of investigation caused by a bomb threat made on Twitter at 4:53 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 4.
By 11:30 a.m., both the secondary and elementary buildings had been cleared with the use of up to four bomb-sniffing K9 units.
“I want to assure our parents, students, staff and the Bucyrus community that our school buildings are safe and secure,” Kimmel said.
Kimmel said an individual associated with the district while an announcement was being made for a two-hour delay caused by cold weather found the tweet.
He said classes for the entire district were cancelled at 7 a.m. and faculty and staff were notified at 7:15 a.m. as to why. At 7:40 a.m. local media received a press release from the school district.
Kimmel said it was important to be up front and transparent with the students and parents. He said administrators received very few phone calls during the process and he believed it was due to the school’s immediate response and releasing of known information.
Kopeke said Bucyrus police are taking the lead in the investigation moving forward and BPD will be reaching out to Homeland Security and other agencies that have the ability to assist.
He added that his department would investigate and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Koepke said his guess would be that the minimum charge for the act would be inducing panic, which he and Kent simultaneously confirmed would be a felony charge.
Koepke said BPD has a copy of the tweet, but the original has been taken down and Twitter has suspended the account as the social media company assists in the investigation.
Kimmel said the rapid response to the threat showed why it is important to take drills seriously. Plans in place at the school were designed in cooperation between school administration and local law officials.
“Today was a perfect example of why you have those plans put in place and why you practice them,” Kimmel said. “And then, when a real threat comes through, you follow that plan to a ‘T’ and things worked out for the best by following the plan.”
Kimmel then said the district suffered many losses, both financially and in other ways.
“Huge financial burden. At this point, a daily cost to the school district is about $30,000 in lost salary and benefits, for today for a district our size. Not counting the lost income from food service and some of the other related cost,” Kimmel said. “But more importantly, we lose a day of instruction with the students, and that’s an important piece we have to keep in mind. So, there was both a financial loss for today and instructional loss.”
Kimmel said all school activities for the evening were cancelled and any delay or cancellation for the following day of school would strictly be weather based and no alterations to the school day would come as a result of the threat.
The Bucyrus Police Department, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Crawford County Emergency Management Agency, Allen County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, City of Columbus Fire Department and the Cleveland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation all assisted at the scene.