BENTONVILLE — A bomb threat discovered at Bentonville High School forced an early dismissal of the school Tuesday.
Students were released at 12:15 p.m., a little less than two hours after authorities were notified of the threat found on the wall of a South Building boys restroom, according to Mary Ley, district spokeswoman. The South Building was evacuated, and students stood outside for about 30 minutes before being moved to the North Building.
The Bentonville Police Department's Bomb Squad investigated and searched the South Building. The building is clear, school officials said.
"To do a thorough search, we had to send students home," Ley said.
Kasey Kopejtka, a senior, was among the hundreds of students who stood outside after being evacuated from the South Building. She said the incident made her a little uneasy.
"It's definitely not normal," Kopejtka said.
Students who ride the bus were evacuated across J Street to the Tiger Athletic Complex where buses picked them up.
A letter posted on the district's website Tuesday afternoon stated school resource officers are still investigating the threat.
Law enforcement agencies take these kinds of threats seriously and "are pursuing prosecution even when such incidents are intended as pranks," the letter stated.
Staff members will monitor all student activities in the hallways closely today, Ley said.
It was the second threat in two days at the school. On Monday, a student reported a message written on a girls restroom wall in which the writer threatened to bring a gun to the school Tuesday and shoot people. Police said the student who reported the threat eventually confessed to writing it.
Samantha Overstreet, 18, of Garfield was arrested in connection with terroristic threatening, a Class D felony, on Tuesday in connection with Monday's threat, according to Bentonville police.
Bentonville High School also dealt with a bomb threat Feb. 20. That threat was found written on a bathroom wall as well. The writer of that threat hasn't been identified.
Enrollment at the high school was 3,966 as of last month.
NW News on 04/02/2014