Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Pipe bomb, threat rattle high schools
Colerain kid arrested; FBI called to Mason
BY LEW MOORES and SUE KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Andrew Cost
|
A 19-year-old senior was arrested Tuesday morning with a pipe bomb at Colerain High School. And in Mason, authorities decided to keep schools closed a second straight day today because of a mailed bomb threat thought to have come from a federal penitentiary.
“If I'm going to err, I'm going to err on the side of safety,” Superintendent Kevin Bright said as he announced the Mason district's six schools would remain closed, even though no evidence of a bomb was found Tuesday in searches by police, school officials and a bomb-sniffing dog borrowed from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
The two Tristate school incidents were linked only as the latest in the lengthening series of violent acts and threats of violence in schools around the nation.
“When you have signature events happening around the country, I don't think anybody's ready to jeopardize their kids' safety,” Mason Police Chief Ron Ferrell said.
At Colerain High, students tipped a teacher, who immediately alerted school authorities to reports that a student had brought a homemade pipe bomb. Hamilton County sheriff's deputies arrived quickly and arrested Andrew Cost after he already was in school authorities' custody.
The county hazardous devices unit recovered a CO-2 cartridge filled with smokeless gunpowder from Mr. Cost's backpack. The cartridge was 31/4 inches long and 3/4-inch in diameter.
The student, who lives on Basswood Lane in Green Township, has been suspended with a recommendation for expulsion, said Cheryl Gabe, communications coordinator for the Northwest Local School District.
Authorities said no threats had been made in connection with the incident.
Steve Barnett, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said the device was potentially strong enough to blow the windows out of a car or out of a small office, and send shrapnel flying.
Mr. Cost is expected to appear in court today. Having a bomb on school property is a fifth-degree felony, punishable by six months to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500.
A woman who answered the door of Mr. Cost's home declined to comment.
Ms. Gabe could not recall any similar incidents at the high school, which has just under 2,000 students.
School was not disrupted. An announcement of what had happened was made at the end of the school day and a note was sent home with students.
Ms. Gabe said she did not know whether Tuesday's incident would affect how security at Colerain High School is handled.
In Mason, each school building was locked down after Tuesday's searches, and security personnel were assigned to remain inside to make sure no one enters before classes resume Thursday, Mr. Bright said.
When classes resume, police officers will be assigned to the school. No student will be allowed to bring in a backpack or large coat.
Mr. Bright said the letter contained very specific information about the school and what would transpire today. He declined to elaborate on the specifics because the matter is under investigation.
He did say officials are confident the letter was sent from the prison but still aren't sure whether the person who signed the letter was the one who wrote it. Preliminary reports indicate the handwriting in the letter doesn't match other samples taken from the alleged writer's prison cell.
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers are investigating the incident because the suspect is in prison, and the FBI was called in because the threat was sent by mail.
School officials have confirmed the alleged writer of the letter was enrolled in the Mason schools for at least sixth through eighth grades.
“This letter was written from the confines of a prison. ... We're dealing with a convicted felon. I don't know what their connection is to our community. That's why we're proceeding cautiously,” Mr. Bright said.
“How reliable is the threat that this is going to happen at the high school — or any other building? I don't know. I'm not taking any chances with this one.”
Parent Terry Kahn said she was glad the schools were closed Tuesday and again today.
“I still think we need to be cautious. I would rather be safe than sorry,” Mrs. Kahn said. “If they had resumed school today ... I probably would not have sent my children because Wednesday was the day it was supposed to happen.”
Exams at the high school were to have begun today. There has been no decision whether they will be postponed, Ms. Benesh said.
Enquirer reporters Sara J. Bennett and Sheila McLaughlin contributed to this report.
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