Law Enforcement Seeks ‘To Eliminate The Fear Some May Have’ About School Safety

BERLIN — While school is not in session today due to the Martin Luther King holiday, the investigation into last week’s rash of bomb threats at Worcester County schools continues.

The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) is the lead agency on the investigation locally and is working with state and federal partners. Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Ed Schreier said on Monday the investigation is ongoing and is not limited to Worcester County. Schreier also said the allied law enforcement agencies are being proactive in an attempt to allay some of the fears in the community before school resumes on Tuesday.

“We would not want to go into great detail due to the open investigation, but we are checking the schools,” he said. “Our priority is to help provide a safe environment for the community we serve and attempt to eliminate the fear some may have.”

Last Tuesday morning, Ocean City Elementary School received a bomb threat from an individual. The school was evacuated and multiple law enforcement agencies responded and thoroughly checked the building before giving the students and staff the all clear to return. Tuesday’s threat at OCES was one of many across the Delmarva with similar threats reported in Sussex County in Delaware. Complicating Tuesday’s bomb threat at OCES, shortly after students and staff returned, smoke was detected in a classroom in the west end of the building and the school was evacuated again. That incident was reported to have been an HVAC issue and once again the all clear was given and school resumed, although many parents and guardians had picked up their children during the two unrelated back-to-back incidents.

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