ABINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS- On the 26th of September at Abington High School and Middle School there was a bomb threat. It was the end of bridge block for the high schoolers, but at 10:53 the bell didn’t ring. Instead, someone on the loudspeaker said that it wasn’t a drill, that everybody had to evacuate the building as soon as possible, but nobody specified what was going on or the reason why students and teachers had to leave the building. It took a moment to realize what was happening, the halls were a swollen river, overflowing onto the front yard of the school. Trying to be safe without knowing exactly what the danger was is difficult, almost impossible. Knowing if there was an actual danger or if everything was a false alarm was the real question.

Outside the green field got filled quickly by the students, teachers and every person that was inside the school during the threat. Wandering around, trying to find friends and familiar faces, asking questions to the teachers and looking at the police patrols that were arriving, kept everybody busy. The students were truly concerned and confused. They were searching for answers and information about the situation, trying to figure out what the next move would be. 

This reporter sat down with school leadership a few days after the incident. Mr. Bourn, the principal, illustrated the reality of the facts. As soon as the school received the call from the police department, without hesitation, the building was evacuated. Ms. Kasey, the assistant principal, highlighted that at first nobody knew if it was just a threat with the purpose of scaring the kids, the families, and the school staff members, or if somewhere in the school building there was a real bomb ready to explode at any moment.  

It took two hours to clear the school. The State Police Bomb Squad checked Woodsdale elementary school and Beaver Brook elementary school, before they arrived at the Middle, High and Preschool. The police are still investigating the details: who conceived the threat? A group or a single person?  

For the high school and middle school students was a different story, after one hour outside in the cold wind and without lunch the students got dismissed, with the permission of a parent or a guardian the high schoolers and middle schoolers could get back home. But was this really a good choice? The road got clogged up in a few minutes by students and parents’ cars, but is a clogged road good if something dangerous happens for real?  

Feeling safe is an inviolable right. Having the choice to get away from possible danger is a personal and respectable choice. Having permission and freedom to decide which situation is safe or not should be a personal decision, especially when the danger is in a public place. Hopefully, if this happens again, we will be ready.