Update: Overnight bomb threat prompted Lakeville schools closure

A bomb threat is what prompted the abrupt closure of Lakeville schools Friday - but an investigation ultimately determined the threat was not credible.

Lakeville Area Schools provided an update at 1 p.m., revealing a bomb threat was made overnight to Lakeville South High School, as well as "other unnamed schools" in the district. Lakeville schools quickly shifted to remote learning as police investigated the threat. 

"As always student safety and well-being are our top priorities," Lakeville Area Schools said in the update.

In the afternoon update, the school district said police, working through the morning, ultimately determined the bomb threat was not credible. 

Students will remain home Friday, and all on-site school and community education activities have been cancelled for the day. However, activities scheduled for Saturday onward will go on as planned, and school will resume Monday as normal.

The school district has also offered resources and staff support for any students "expressing significant fear or distress" stemming from the incident.

The original story from Friday morning is below.

Original story

All Lakeville Area Schools are closed due to what the district describes as an "active threat."

In an emergency alert, the district said: "All Lakeville Area schools and facilities will be closed until further notice on Friday, May 21 due to an active threat under investigated by the Lakeville Police Department.

"All K-12 students will participate in distance learning from home. All staff should work remotely."

A further statement on its website says that staff members are being told not to report to school buildings or district facilities until further notice.

Any children already at school for Kid Zone or Wonder Zone programs were moved to Hosanna Church for parents or caretakers to pick up. All early childhood programs were also canceled.

Shortly after 9 a.m., the Lakeville Police Department provided a short update on its website, but offered few new details, saying it is "aggressively investigating a communicated threat to Lakeville area schools, K-12."

The update continue: The threat is isolated to the Lakeville schools and is not community-wide. As the investigation continues, we will provide updates accordingly."

This story will be updated as more details emerge.