UPDATE
A Hays High student was arrested Friday after confessing to a bomb threat made against the school a day previous.
The Hays County Sheriff’s Office arrested 17-year-old Dusty Williamson with False Alarm or Report, which is a state jail felony.
According to HCSO Lt. Jeri Skrocki, Williamson acted alone in making the threat. Skrocki said the HCSO’s investigation involved conducting interviews with students, along with viewing video tape from the school. Skrocki said it was established that Williamson had handwriting “similar to what was displayed.”
“From there, we basically brought him in, talked to him about it, and he confessed to (making the threat),” Skrocki said.
Skrocki said Williamson “had his own personal reasons” for making the threat, but that he took no action.
The investigation was a joint effort between law enforcement and school officials. Thursday’s incident involved response from Hays CISD, the Kyle Police and Fire Departments, San Marcos/Hays County EMS and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Williamson is being held in the Hays County Jail awaiting magistration.
EARLIER
By Kim Hilsenbeck
For the third time since Friday, Hays CISD officials and local law enforcement dealt with a threat written on a bathroom wall.
On Thursday, a threat was discovered at about 3:15 p.m., threatening a bomb would go off at 3:50 p.m. at Hays High School. According to Hays CISD spokesperson Tim Savoy, law enforcement initiated an evacuation of everyone in the campus’s buildings to the stadium.
Parents commenting on the district’s Facebook page said they were concerned that the buildings were not immediately evacuated.
One poster, presumably a student or possibly a staff member, wrote, “It was 3:45 when they got on the announcements to dismiss us to the stadium.”
A junior at the school confirmed that was the time she first heard the announcement to leave the building. She said at that point, there was no reason given for the evacuation.
Once students and staff were in the stadium, school was dismissed, though students were released based on mode of transportation, with bus riders first, then car riders, drivers and finally those who walk. Some students didn’t leave until 5 p.m. or later.
No one was allowed back into the building at that point, so parents had questions and concerns about whether homework and tests would be postponed.
Savoy said an awards ceremony scheduled for tonight at the Performing Arts Center was postponed.
Authorities cleared the buildings at about 6:30 p.m. Savoy said nothing was found during the sweep. Some staff members were involved in assisting law enforcement with checking the campus looking for anything suspicious.
At least one employee said she didn’t feel comfortable hearing that staff had to assist law enforcement. Savoy said a limited number of staff worked with police because they knew all the areas of the buildings and had access to the entire campus.
This past Monday, April 20, Hays High reported a threat on a bathroom wall, though no evacuation was initiated. That day was the 16th anniversary of the Columbine tragedy. This week was also when many district students took the STAAR exam.
Last Friday, school officials at Lehman High School found a note scrawled on a bathroom wall that read, “F- – – this school IM so done! All of U make me sick: Monday im shooting up lehman!”
Additional law enforcement were on hand Monday to search students’ backpacks, purses and other bags as they entered the building. Law enforcement also limited entry points into the school.
According to figures released Monday afternoon, Lehman’s attendance numbers showed a 55.8 percent rate, meaning nearly 1,000 students out of 2,235 did not show up for school that day. While Savoy said each parent had to decide for him or herself whether to send a child to school, those who did not attend would not have an excused absence.
Bathroom wall threats appear to be in the news recently. A school district in Tennessee had 13 just in April so far.
Two high schools Florida also had bathroom wall threats this week, both mentioning threats against bullies. They were deemed unsubstantiated by local law enforcement.
Hays High School Principal David Pierce sent a letter to parents Thursday evening regarding the bomb threat. His strongly worded final paragraph reminded parents that he and the district do not consider the threat a joke or a prank.
“It is a crime that carries strong consequences from both a school disciplinary perspective and from the criminal courts,” he wrote.
Threats of this nature have other ripple effects and consequences, including creating fear and panic among students, staff and the community, the time law enforcement officials spend investigating, loss of instruction time, and even a loss of funds to the district when students remain home from school.
The full text of Pierce’s letter is below:
Dear Hays High School Parents,
This afternoon we discovered a threat written on a bathroom wall. Unlike Monday, this threat was about a bomb. We take these threats very seriously. While we hope they don’t have merit, we will always act and respond in a way necessary to protect the safety of our students. Each response may vary depending upon the circumstances and recommendations made by emergency responders.
In response to today’s threat, and in coordination with law enforcement, we conducted a precautionary evacuation of everyone to our stadium. Because this occurred at the end of the school day, we implemented an orderly and safe student release from our stadium. Thank you for your patience during this process. I also want to extend appreciation to our students and staff for their model behavior during this event. Our Hays High School team worked together to make everything run as smoothly as possible. I am particularly grateful for the quick and professional response from our local law enforcement and other first-responders.
Our building was thoroughly searched and cleared this evening. There was no danger located. We expect no problems tomorrow and will operate on a normal schedule.
I want to be clear that we do not consider this a joke or a prank. It is a crime that carries strong consequences from both a school disciplinary perspective and from the criminal courts. It is disruptive and frightening to our students, parents and staff. Our campus Crime Stoppers is offering a monetary reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the individual(s) involved. Contact Crime Stoppers at: 800-324-8477 (TIPS).
The senior panoramic picture scheduled for tomorrow at 8:00am is still on schedule.
Sincerely,
David R. Pierce
Principal
