POLICE SEARCH KENT CO. SCHOOLS FOLLOWING BOMB THREAT

(CHESTERTOWN, MD) – All students have been evacuated and are safe as Maryland State Police continue coordination of searches of all Kent County schools following a bomb threat this morning.

Shortly before 8:00 a.m. today, a handwritten note was found by school officials on a side door of the Kent Middle School in Chestertown, Md. The note said a bomb had been placed in that school and also in all six other Kent County schools and they would detonate today.

Kent County school officials immediately called police and began a reverse 911 operation to notify parents that schools would be evacuated and closed. The county high school was in session already. Students were being dropped off at the middle school and the elementary school students were not yet on their way. Students at the high school and middle school were evacuated and sent home. There are about 2,100 school students in Kent County who attend one high school, one middle school, and five elementary schools.

Maryland State Police responded to the scene and are coordinating the allied police response throughout the county. Kent County Sheriff’s Office deputies, as well as officers from local departments have teamed up to provide a law enforcement presence at each school building in the county.

State Police Special Operations Division personnel are coordinating the response of bomb detection K-9 teams from across the state. Police are responding with bomb dogs from as far away as Ocean City and Prince George’s County. The State Fire Marshal’s Office has responded with their explosives experts and bomb dog teams. The teams will be deployed to each school and a thorough search will be conducted of each of the seven campuses. Once the buildings have been cleared by law enforcement, school officials say staff will be permitted to return.

The Kent Bureau of Investigation, comprised of criminal investigators from the Maryland State Police, the Chestertown Police Department, and the Rock Hall Police Department, are conducting a criminal investigation into the bomb threat. Anyone with information about who is responsible for this note is urged to contact police at 410-758-1101 or 410-778-1800.