Watertown Public School officials said they received an email with a bomb threat directed toward all the Watertown schools Friday morning, but police found nothing when they searched the campuses.
Most of the schools are not being used this summer, but Watertown Police searched each of the schools, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor.
“We checked all the schools and nothing was found,” O’Connor said.
The Hosmer School is hosting the Watertown Recreation Department’s Pequossette Summer Program, so the school will be monitored through the day, said Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston in her letter to parents.
Similar threats have been made in recent days to schools in nearby communities, O’Connor said, including Newton, Waltham and Belmont. In Belmont the threat was only directed at Belmont High, according to The Belmontonian, and three schools in Waltham were targeted. Wareham received a threat on Monday. No bombs were found in any of those cases.
The Watertown Police are teaming up with other communities which have received the email bomb threats to run a joint investigation through the state’s Fusion Center, O’Connor said.
The letter from the Watertown Superintendent can be seen below:
Dear Parents/Guardians of Watertown Public Schools students:
Today we received an email threat sent to WHS administrators indicating a bomb threat directed at all of our schools and three private schools in Watertown, very similar to the unfounded email threats received this week in neighboring communities. Upon receipt of this message, we immediately contacted the Watertown Police Department and put our response plan into action.
In consultation with Watertown Police and our regional partners, we conducted a threat assessment. As part of this assessment, we communicated with other communities that received similar threats this week. Consistent with our response protocols and the Massachusetts Bomb Threat Response Guide, we determined that this was a low-level threat and decided not to evacuate. WPD and WPS personnel undertook a sweep of the each of the WPS buildings. We are pleased to report that our actions have not produced any evidence that lends validity to the threat. Since there are summer recreation programs at the Hosmer School, there will be a police presence throughout the remainder of the day as students continue their regular schedules. As always, parents and guardians of children in summer camps may pick them up early, if they so desire.
Please know that we treat the safety and security of our students as our most important responsibility. As such, although no bomb has ever been found in a Massachusetts school after a communicated threat, we take each threat seriously. We are most grateful for the support of and collaboration with the Watertown Police Department, and thank them for their efforts.
Sincerely,
Dede Gladston,
Superintendent