Update: Holy Angels evacuated after caller left bomb threat on school's voicemail
A bomb threat left on school voicemail led to an evacuation of Academy of Holy Angels High School Tuesday.
School leaders, in a message to parents that afternoon, offered new details about what had initially been described only as an "unforeseen emergency." An unknown individual called the school early Tuesday and left a voicemail "implying an explosive device posed a threat to the school."
At about 7 a.m., school administrators and the Richfield Police Department decided to evacuate the building. The school also canceled classes for the day.
"Students who were in the building were directed by faculty to the Southwest Dome to wait for return rides home. Those who had not yet arrived on campus were instructed to return home," the school's message said.
Explosive detection K-9s were brought in to scour the school, and by 9:30 a.m. authorities gave the all-clear that the campus was safe. In-person school will resume Wednesday on a late-start schedule.
The school's leaders said a "similar threat" was issued toward an Academy of the Holy Angels school in New Jersey. Richfield police are working with law enforcement in New Jersey in the investigation.
"We thank you for your cooperation and want you to know that the safety of our students and staff is foremost in our minds, which is why we enacted today's evacuation and are ready to return to school tomorrow," Academy of Holy Angels' leaders concluded.
The original story from Tuesday morning is below.
Original story
Police responded to Academy of Holy Angels High School Tuesday morning after what school officials described as an unspecific emergency that canceled classes for the day.
Authorities have provided few details about what sent squad cars to the Richfield school, at 66th Street and Nicollet Avenue S., just after 7 a.m. A Phone call to parents described an "unforeseen emergency" without offering details.
Here's the message posted on the school's website:
"Parents, due to an unforeseen emergency, school is canceled for today.
If your child rides a bus, they will go home on the bus. If they drive, they have been told to go home. If your child is still at school, please pick them up as soon as possible.
We will provide you more information via email as we have it."
Students were evacuated from the high school building. Students who drove were told to return home, while those who bused in went to the nearby athletic dome, according to social media posts.
Classes at the high school have been canceled.
As of 9:30 a.m., there were still a handful of police squad cars outside of Holy Angels, though the scene was relatively quiet.
Bring Me The News will update this post as soon as it has more information.
