On Wednesday January 16 of 2008 a bomb threat was reported at East Mills High School in Malvern, Iowa. A student had reported seeing a 17 year old male with a stash of dynamite in the school. It wasn’t until Friday January 18 that the threat was taken seriously and the school finally got the police involved. They said that there was not enough evidence to get a full on investigation started as of Wednesday. You would think, however, that any mention of dynamite in a school would have the school shutdown immediately and it would be searched thoroughly. This was not the case though. It wasn’t until Friday, when a young female student came forward claiming to have seen the sticks of dynamite, that they even started to investigate the threat. The school’s administration and the local police department still did not shut the school down after receiving this information. Around noon on Friday the student’s finally did something about it. The students began a mass exodus around or a little after lunch time that led to 60% of the students leaving the school towards home. The students did this without permission from the school or their parents because they feared for their safety. The school had threatened punishment for those who had left the school during this time but this decision was later reversed when many unaware parents found out what had been going on at the school. Finally, around 2:15 in the afternoon a young seventeen year old male was arrested and charged with terroristic threats and possession of a deadly weapon on school property.
Thankfully they arrested the young teen without incident but it is shameful that their response was delayed for two days before the threat was actually taken seriously. Many students and teachers were put at risk because of the school administration’s lack of response to such a serious threat. Not only did the school lack a response but the police in Mills County lacked a response that should have began with a shutdown at the school and a full search to secure the school. Since no action was taken though many lives were put in danger by the inadequate response from the school administration and the police department. This kind of threat should be taken seriously no matter what evidence they have or don’t have. I would be thinking twice before sending my child back to a school in a town where the police and school administration think they’re immune to this type of disaster.
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