Bomb threat at Sussex Tech spurs evacuation

SPARTA — A scrawled message threatening an explosion at Sussex County Technical School on North Church Road in Sparta Tuesday, caused school officials to evacuate the vo-tech high school around 11 a.m., authorities said.
“There was no bomb, no one was injured, but in a case like this we have to assume the worst, follow procedure and take every precaution to assure everyone’s safety,” said Lt. John Lamon, public affairs officer for Sparta police. “So, the school buildings were evacuated and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in.”
Lamon said the threat was detected by a student in the lavatory around 11 a.m.
“A student saw writing on a bathroom stall,” Lamon said. “The writing said, ‘Bomb goes off at 12:15 today.’”
The student reported the message to school officials and the evacuation was ordered. The high school has about 800 students. Located in Sparta, the school serves students from throughout the county.
Sparta police responded, as did law enforcement units from the region, including the Andover Township and Byram police forces and several county sheriff’s departments.
“We received help in the way of bomb-detecting dogs from Morris County, Essex County, Passaic County and the State Police,” Lamon said. “They waited until after the threatened time of 12:30 had passed, then the dogs entered the buildings.”
The last dog exited the school a little after 2 p.m. Nothing dangerous or out of the ordinary was detected and the school buildings were again deemed safe, authorities said.
The school district sent a notice to parents before 1 p.m., saying that there had been a bomb threat, that all students were safe and that there may be some logistical problems with bus transportation that afternoon due to situation.
Sparta detectives and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office are continuing their investigation to find the individual or individuals responsible for the hoax, authorities said.