Wednesday, November 03, 1999
E-mail threatened to blow up cafeteria
BY SHEILA McLAUGHLIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TRENTON — Butler County police are investigating an e-mail threat to blow up the Edgewood High School cafeteria.
Sheriff's detectives continue to investigate the threatening message sent Oct. 21 to a list of 25 people, many of them past and current students.
It warned the school would be bombed last Friday.
School officials called police Oct. 22 after board member Sharon Anderson reported that her 18-year-daughter, Cara, a senior, had received an e-mail riddled with profanity and promising that students would die Oct. 29.
That prompted sheriff's deputies to conduct an after-hours sweep of the school on Ohio 73 Thursday. They searched for suspicious devices, but found nothing.
Security was beefed up Friday, with two sheriff's deputies posted at the building throughout the school day. School administrators searched student backpacks as they entered the school for class that morning.
Despite those events, school officials described Friday as a typical day at Edgewood, although students were limited to using one entrance.
Later that night, students packed the stadium to watch the Edgewood Cougars complete their regular football season undefeated.
School operations were back to normal this week and no additional security was in place, Edgewood Superintendent Dale Robertson said.
He thinks the threat was a hoax, but police have gone so far as to seek court orders from an Internet service company to trace the e-mail sender, who could face charges of inducing panic.
“We didn't feel it was a serious threat because some of the people (receiving) the e-mail were not in the school. But on the other hand, we could not ignore it,” Mr. Robertson said.
An offense report, filed with the Butler County sheriff's office, said Miss Anderson received the e-mail from another student.
Sgt. Mike Thacker said the student is a suspect, but detectives think the e-mail sender may have stolen someone else's account to send the threat.
Mr. Robertson refused to say if any disciplinary measures had been taken against the unnamed student.
The threats did not target any particular group of students, such as the “jocks,” who were the brunt of last April's attack at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
“It really scared my daughter,” Mrs. Anderson said of the e-mail received on their home computer.
“If you read it, you would think it was so. In today's age any threat has to be taken seriously.”
Mrs. Anderson said her daughter immediately showed the e-mail to her mother.
“What's so scary about this is all anyone has to do is have your account number. We don't give ours out, but a lot of kids do,” Mrs. Anderson said.
Sue Kiesewetter contributed to this story.
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