South Panola High School students and faculty were evacuated early Thursday after a bomb threat was made known to school and law enforcement officials.
By mid-morning five dogs trained for explosives detection and their handlers from neighboring law enforcement agencies had joined Batesville Police Department officers to “sweep” the school building.
School officials became aware of the threat early Thursday and took immediate steps to evacuate students and faculty to the Batesville Junior High School auditorium and gymnasium nearby as well and to notify law enforcement.
Batesville police officers established a perimeter, blocking access to the building from Watt Street, Tiger Drive and Keating Road while other officers responded inside the school building.
Among agencies that assisted BPD with trained dogs and handlers are the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department, the State Fire Marshall and the Mississippi Highway Patrol, McCloud said.
Two Batesville Junior High School students were charged for making a bomb threat at that school in May, 2014.
In September, 2014, an SPHS student was apprehended following a bomb threat at the high school.
SP District Superintendent Tim Wilder said following the previous incidents that making a bomb threat can be a federal offense. He also said that the school district would prosecute anyone making a bomb threat to the fullest extent allowed by law and school policy.