Police give all-clear after bomb threat at Columbia High School

LAKE CITY, Fla. — The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reported it responded to a bomb threat Monday morning at Columbia High School.

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At approximately 10:30 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office was notified of a possible bomb threat at Columbia High School. Students were evacuated to a safe location while officials from CCSO and the school district implemented safety protocols.

CCSO coordinated a multi-law enforcement agency search of the campus, but no suspicious devices were found.

After the school was searched, the decision was made to allow students to return to class and resume normal operations on campus.

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A similar situation occurred March 15, when another suspicious package was reported. In both of these situations, the call was placed using an untraceable phone number application.

It has been confirmed that multiple schools across North Florida have received very similar threats.

In a statement, Sheriff Hunter said, “We appreciate the continued partnership we have with our school district and other law enforcement agencies as we keep our children safe. Although we believe these incidents to be hoaxes, we will never take the safety of our children for granted.”

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Superintendent Lex Carswell said, “School safety is our number one priority and today’s incident reminded me of that. The students and staff did a great job of following our training and our partnership with CCSO further created a safe school that our students can return to. A learning environment that is safe is truly a partnership between law enforcement, the community, and the school district. Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding.”

Investigation into these reports is ongoing.

Action News Jax will continue to follow the story and update you as events unfold.

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