High school locked down after bomb threat

Warwick — A handwritten message on a boys’ bathroom wall caused the Warwick Valley High School to be locked down Monday for just under two hours. Warwick police Chief Thomas McGovern said the message was about a bomb in a specific room or locker. It was discovered by a student just after 11 a.m. The students were kept in classrooms while an investigation proceeded. “A cursory search of the suspected areas proved negative, but to be sure, the New York State Police provided two officers - each with an explosives-sensitive dog - to do a more thorough search,” said McGovern. That search also turned up nothing. The students returned to class around 1 p.m. As a precaution, and as per the district and police department protocol, fire and ambulance personnel were notified and on stand-by at their locations. A student who was in the cafeteria at the time of the lock down, said announcements were made but could not be heard in that location. Rumors traveled around the room — everything from a drug bust to the bomb scare — until another student called a parent and the bomb scare was confirmed. McGovern said the investigation is ongoing. Bomb threats are not just a prank anymore. If the culprit is found, he or she will be prosecuted.