As Montgomery County Police officers and their dogs searched yet another school for bombs – on Thursday it was Paint Branch High School – several students told MCM what it was like to live through these events.
Three emailed bomb threats to Montgomery Blair High School proved to be invalid, but not before police and school security spent time combing through the building and students lost class time sheltering in place or evacuating their school building.
Jack (MCM is not using the last names of any of the students) said he has difficulty getting out of bed to come to school in the morning.
When alerted to a recent possible bomb, Jack recalled, “I tensed up, and I froze. I texted my mom I love her.” While standing outside the McDonald’s on University Boulevard by his school Thursday, he added, “How cruel of him, out of nowhere to do it to us.”
He was referring to the 12-year-old who confessed to police to sending the bomb threat emails, knowing all along that police cannot charge anyone younger than 13 years.
Lirah, who attends Northwood High School, said that although her school hadn’t had any threats, “It is pretty scary. What if someone really did it? I know some of these kids at that school [Montgomery Blair].”
But not everyone was upset. Junior told MCM he considered the first bomb threat this month “kind of serious.” But as they continued occurring, it became “no big deal.”
He explained, “The more times it happens, it’s just a joke.”
One student waiting for a bus said he was not concerned with the threats and breaks in the school day.
Blair Principal Renay Johnson realizes that some students are negatively affected by these threats. In a post to students and their families, she wrote, “We understand that events like this can be unsettling; school counselors, wellness center staff, administrators, and staff will be available to meet with students tomorrow and all week as needed.”
Just this month, police have had to search Oak View Elementary School, Paint Branch High School, Montgomery Blair, Springbrook High School, Albert Einstein High School and Rockville High.
Threats at all these schools were deemed not valid.
We understand that events like this can be unsettling; school counselors, wellness center staff, administrators, and staff will be available to meet with students tomorrow and all week as needed. 2/2
— Renay Johnson (@blairprincipal) October 16, 2023
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