Hoax bomb threats called into two schools out of session

File photo: Vanguard High School is shown in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, August 14, 2020. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Two separate bomb threats were called into Vanguard High School and East Marion Elementary School on Thursday morning, the week after school was let out for summer.

Both calls were deemed to be hoax swatting calls after the schools were evacuated and searched and no credible threats were found, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocala Police Department.

MCSO received a call about a threat to East Marion Elementary School at 9:02 a.m. Units arrived at the school by 9:09 a.m., according to MCSO spokesperson Zach Moore.

“Somebody called in saying they had placed bombs around the campus. There were no students or anything there, summer school hasn’t started yet, but they did check it out,” Moore said. “It was totally unfounded, just a swatting call.”

The only people present on campus at the time of the threat were teachers and staff, who were evacuated and exited out of the front of the school, Moore said.

Once the school was evacuated, deputies searched the premises for any sign of a bomb or other threat but found none. The scene was cleared by 10:07 a.m.

“They’re going to see if they can attempt to identify who called in the threat, what method they use to call it in, and ultimately see if they can track down an IP address or subscriber information or something like that to figure out where it originated from,” Moore said.

Vanguard High School received a similar call about a bomb threat on campus, which OPD responded to at 11:31 a.m., said OPD spokesperson Jeff Walczak.

“Administrative staff were present and evacuated the building,” Walczak said. “No students were on campus.”

Once staff was evacuated, OPD conducted a walkthrough of the campus to search for any threats and found nothing suspicious. The scene was cleared by 12:45 p.m., Walczak said.