LOUISVILLE — Two fifth-graders were charged with misdemeanor terroristic threatening after an envelope containing powder and a threat was left at the school, officials said.

        The girls, who were not identified, have been suspended and will be screened to see if they need counseling or other services, said Shirley Fuqua-Jackson, principal of Cochrane Elementary School.

        Jeffersontown Police Chief Fred Roemele said the girls were charged Friday after an investigation of the envelope.

        “It was a threat that if you smelled the powder you could die and something could happen to everybody in the whole school,” Mr. Roemele said.

        The letter was traced to a female student based on information from another girl the same day the envelope was discovered, Ms. Fuqua-Jackson said.

        The child who wrote the letter is 12 and the one who knew about it is 10, Mr. Roemele said.

        The police were awaiting tests to confirm what the substance was, Mr. Roemele said.

        Lauren Roberts, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Public Schools, said it contained no bacterial or infectious agents.

        The envelope was left on a counter in the school's front office area about 8:50 a.m. Thursday, Ms. Fuqua-Jackson said.

        Jeffersontown police responded, along with the school district's safety office and a hazardous-material response team, according to a letter Ms. Fuqua-Jackson sent home to parents.

        Until authorities determined it was safe to resume normal activities about 10:10 a.m., teachers were ordered to keep children in class and to keep their doors locked, Ms. Fuqua-Jackson said.

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