This story was updated at 2:12 p.m. to include information that Montgomery Blair High School has been cleared from the bomb threat by police. And updated at 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2023 to include a statement from an MCPS spokesperson about the incident.
For the third time in three weeks, an alleged bomb threat forced an evacuation Monday at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, according to Montgomery County police.
As of 12:45 p.m., the high school has been cleared of the bomb threat, according to a post on social media from police.
A spokesperson for MCPD, said police received a call at 10:40 a.m. reporting the bomb threat at the school and at 10:51 a.m. a shelter in pace was called out. Officers are currently at the school sweeping the building.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, at 10:56 a.m. police posted that the high school was sheltering in place as officers worked to confirm the validity of the threat. At approximately 11:21 a.m., police posted on X that students will begin exiting the school building to allow officers to fully sweep the campus.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 13 and in the afternoon of Oct. 16, bomb threats at Blair High School were reported to and investigated by county police. Police determined both threats to be “not valid” after officers and K-9 units swept the building.
Blair principal Renay Johnson has not yet posted on X about today’s incident as she did for the two previous threats.
In one post, Johnson said that bomb threat incidents “can be unsettling” and school counselors, wellness center staff, school administrators and staff were available to meet with students.
This was the first of two bomb threats sent to schools in the county on Monday. A spokesperson for MCPD wrote in an email to MoCo360 that the reason for the recent spike in threats at schools in the county is unknown, but added that there is a nationwide trend of threats being sent to schools.
In an email to MoCo360, a spokesperson for Montgomery County public schools wrote, “Making false bomb threats to schools is entirely improper as it instills fear, anxiety, and disrupts incredibly important time that students and teachers have together to advance their learning.”
“Our police partners have been so valuable in immediately supporting schools, searching and clearing our buildings and we are supporting them in their investigation of these matters,” he wrote.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
