Everyone’s anticipation of looking up into the sky Monday was eclipsed by a bomb threat called into East Marion Schools. The threat turned into a false alarm once bomb-sniffing K-9 units from Madison County cleared the campus and is under investigation by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The threat was made through a phone call around 11:20 a.m., just hours before the solar eclipse was scheduled to make its appearance in the Marion County sky, and students were quickly ushered outside and packed into school busses to be evacuated because of the bomb threat. Students were transported to the Columbia Expo Center, where administrators took roll before students could be released to a parent or guardian.
Two K-9 units from the Madison Police Department made it to the school around 2:15 p.m., with one entering East Marion Elementary on the south side of campus and the other entering the high school on the north side of campus. The two units went room to room checking for explosives before meeting in the middle, allowing law enforcement to issue the “all clear.”
Marion County School District Superintendent Michael Day, the sheriff’s office and the Columbia Police Department arrived on scene within minutes of the threat being called in. Day said moving students to a secondary location became the play once he learned the bomb-sniffing dogs would take a couple of hours to arrive.
“There was no sense in (the students) standing up against the fence in the rain,” he said.
Although the Marion County School District had not drilled moving students to a secondary location, Day said the execution went much smoother than he could have hoped. The CPD had the Expo Center blocked off to the public and secured prior to the arrival of East Marion’s students and faculty.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better response. The staff, the kids, even our special needs babies, everybody was calm and did what they needed to. Nobody panicked,” Day said. “Once we got over there (to the Expo Center) and unloaded, the (teachers) stayed with their kids. The staff immediately jumped in with the (Columbia) Fire Department, Columbia Police Department and sheriff’s department to start the parent pickup process.”
Parents were able to enter Industrial Park Road to pick up their children and loop back out. Day said although the process predictably took some time, the plan worked beautifully.
The sheriff’s office is investigating who placed the call, and there was an indication that the call could possibly be traced.
“It is not a joke or a prank. It’s something we take very seriously. You cannot make those kinds of threats,” Day said. “If we are able to ascertain who did it, we will prosecute to the fullest of the law.”
Day said everybody, from law enforcement to the students, faculty and parents, remained calm throughout the entire situation.
“We had everybody under the sun show up to support us,” he said. “I’m so proud of the kids and the parents. We didn’t have any parents get ugly in the car line. Everybody seemed to be understanding.”
The superintendent added that every decision that he, the school district and law enforcement made was done to keep the children safe.
“Whether it’s a real threat or not, we have to take everything as serious, take every precaution and keep our children safe,” Day said. “I feel 100% that that happened today, and I appreciate everyone’s effort and commitment to making it happen.”
