The Hot Springs Police Department investigated a bomb threat at Hot Springs High School on Friday that officials said appeared to have come from a computer-generated call.
The school was evacuated after the threat was phoned in around 10:40 a.m., according to the Police Department.
According to a news release from Doug Upshaw, the director of human resources and communications at the Hot Springs School District, the caller said someone was inside the building with a 40-pound bomb. A 500-foot perimeter was established around the school as officers searched the building. The scene was declared clear shortly before noon.
"Evidently it's a computer-generated type of [call]," Hot Springs Police Cpl. McCrary Means said.
He added that the call appeared to be bogus.
"It is two or three days before school starts. It's just ironic that you get one," he said, "I guess anything to disrupt the process."
Amy Bramlett, the high school's dance teacher, said she was with the dance team members at a practice when the evacuation notice was announced.
"I heard a bell, but it was just a regular bell," she said.
Bramlett said everyone at first assumed that the school was testing the bells for the first day of classes, but they were later evacuated.
Other than disrupting work at the school, Means said there are a variety of reasons someone might call in a threat.
"Sometimes you get people that just want to see the lights" of the police and fire units, he said.
"A lot of times it is a kid with nothing better to do."
Metro on 08/16/2015