The following story is an extended version of the story that appeared in our latest print edition.

Around two and half hours after students and teachers were evacuated from The Bronx’s P.S. 20 due to a bomb threat on Friday, March 4, the building was, thankfully, declared clear by police and safe for reentry. However, according to some P.S. 20 staff members, the incident served to highlight what some say is a dysfunctional environment at the school, especially given a reported delay with the initial evacuation. In the meantime, three further bomb alerts have been reported at the school, on Monday, March 7, Friday, March 11, and once again, on Monday, March 14.

 

As reported, a police official told Norwood News that an anonymous call was made to the school, located at 3050 Webster Avenue in Norwood, next door to the 52nd precinct, at around 8.50 a.m., on Friday, March 4, and that the person advised there was a bomb on the premises. The NYPD spokesperson was unable to confirm on which extension or on which phone number the call had been placed but confirmed the school had been evacuated.

 

“All the students were taken to a nearby school, but everything is [now] clear,” she said, referring to the school building having been checked by police. “At 11.36 [a.m.], everything was clear. Nothing was found at the school and the students are back in the school.”

 

Police vehicles were still blocking off Webster Avenue at East 204th Street at around 12.22 p.m. on Friday, March 4, about one hour after the area had been deemed clear, and as lines of students and staff were seen making their way back to the building. Enrollment at the school for the academic year 2020-2021 was 857 according to the school’s website.

 

In reference to the first incident, later that afternoon, one social media user commented, “It was a student that did it.” Norwood News contacted the person in question in order to corroborate his assertion. We did not receive an immediate response. We also contacted New York City Department of Education (DOE) on March 4 and asked, among other questions, if the department had found out who had placed the call. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

Later, we spoke to some parents outside the school as they waited to pick up their children and asked them what they knew of the situation. One mother who preferred not to be identified and who was with her daughter, said, “We really don’t know what happened. My daughter texted me and she told me they thought the school was on fire from an alarm, and then, some of the kids have Citizen App, and the Citizen App was telling them there was a bomb threat, so, she called me.” She added, “Most of these kids didn’t have any coats on. They were sent to another school up the street, and I had to go pick her up in the middle of the scare.”

 

The mother said she thought the incident had occurred at around 9/9.30 a.m. “They had literally only been at school for like an hour,” she said referring to the kids. Asked if she had been scared, she said, “Definitely. Everyone was scared.” She added that she didn’t receive a message from the school directly and that she also called some other parents to let them know as they were not aware of the incident either.

 

Speaking in Spanish, Walky De Nunez, another mother to her 6-year-old daughter who attends P.S. 20, said she was not sure what exactly had happened but that she understood the situation arose because of an apparent bomb alert. “I received a message from the school. They told me to come and collect my child because the building had been evacuated,” she said. “I spoke with my brother-in-law, and I told him, ‘I’m in another location with my boyfriend, working,’ and so I said to him, ‘Please, go collect the children’.”

 

She said everything happened very fast and they evacuated the building and that was all she knew. Asked if she had gotten a shock when she got the news, she said, “Yes, it really shocked me.. it’s the truth. The idea of losing my daughter… I cried.. but thanks be to God because the kids are ok. All the kids are ok.”

 

Later, we also spoke to some P.S. 20 staff members who asked for their names not to be disclosed. They described an apparent chaotic situation inside the school following receipt of the bomb threat and how the evacuation did not go as expected.

 

We were informed that even though the fire alarm was activated, no instructions were provided to the staff/teachers regarding the evacuation, contrary to their expectations, and that as a result, a school safety agent eventually stepped in to take charge of the situation and instigate the evacuation. One staff member explained that a PA system is not usually used in such situations in order to curtail panic, and that consequently, teachers usually await direct instruction from senior staff members.

 

Because none was reportedly forthcoming, some staff members said the evacuation was delayed. In addition, one staff member said that even though there is an evacuation plan for P.S. 20, which is agreed with two other nearby schools, because the plan had not reportedly been shared with teachers, some students were directed by staff members to a third nearby school, which was not expecting them.

 

We were told when parents arrived at the different alternate school sites, following the evacuation, some began to immediately pick up their children from those sites, making it difficult for teachers to keep track of the number of students in their care.

 

There were also reports of some children being left outside in the cold without their coats for a long time, and that when they did return to P.S. 20, after the evacuation, there was confusion over whether all students had received lunch at the alternate school sites or not. It transpired that some had not been fed and were therefore later provided lunch at P.S. 20.

 

On the same day, March 4, a second Bronx school evacuation was later found to have taken place in the Pelham Gardens section of The Bronx. Police confirmed that students and staff were evacuated from the Holy Rosary School, located at 1500 Arnow Avenue, in Pelham Gardens on Friday, March 4, at 12:07 p.m. An unidentified male teacher, standing with his students on the Tiemann Avenue side of the school building on Friday, said, “They said the lights went out on all the floors and that triggered the fire alarm, and the fire department had to come.” Asked if he thought the building had suffered a computer hack, he replied, “It was the Russians.”

 

In the meantime, there have been additional media reports of a separate bomb threat on March 7 at York College in Queens. Yet more bomb threats were reported on Monday, March 14, in other parts of the country. Morehouse College in Atlanta asked students to immediately shelter in place Monday afternoon due to a possible bomb threat, and comedian, Katt Williams, abruptly ended a show in Nashville on Saturday, March 12, because of a bomb threat. In January, further bomb threats were reported at St. Francis Prep Catholic High School, also in Queens.

 

The NYPD confirmed a second bomb threat was received at P.S. 20 on Monday, March 7, once again, at 8.50 a.m. A police spokesperson said the threat was made via phone once again by an anonymous caller. The spokesperson declined to confirm the exact number / extension dialed. “The school was evacuated,” the NYPD official said. “A search was conducted of the school with negative results.”

 

Norwood News asked if the two P.S. 20 incidents were related, if the investigation was still ongoing, and if the NYPD now knew who had placed the calls at the school. We did not receive an immediate response. We also contacted the UFT for comment on the allegations raised about the evacuation process. A UFT spokesperson responded, saying, “We are aware of the recent threats, and are in constant communication with other stakeholders to ensure that the entire school community always remains safe.”

 

Norwood News had also raised a number of questions with the DOE regarding both incidents, including those related to the alleged delayed evacuation at P.S. 20 on March 4. A DOE representative responded, saying, “The Building Response Team quickly mobilized to evacuate students, and the NYPD quickly investigated both threats and deemed them non credible. Students returned to class.”

 

The NYPD confirmed a third bomb threat was reported at P.S. 20 on Friday, March 11, at 1 p.m. When contacted for comment, the DOE informed Norwood News that the NYPD quickly investigated the threat, deemed it non credible and that students returned to class.

 

Meanwhile, an ongoing debate continues over the role of school safety agents in schools, with some students, parents and teachers opposed to what is sometimes regarded as a heavy-handed approach when it comes to security staff interacting with youth, while others believe more security is actually what’s needed in schools.

 

We received a lengthy response last year from DOE on the then planned strategy for school safety, with officials advising at the time that plans were on track to transfer school safety agents away from the responsibility of the NYPD and under the remit of DOE. Norwood News contacted the DOE for clarification once again of the latest plans since the change of City administration. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

Another male parent, Samuel Estevez, who spoke to us, said he would like to see more funding and support for police in schools. Speaking in Spanish, he said, “In years gone by, there was more safety than there is now.”

 

Police confirmed a fourth bomb threat was reported on Monday, March 14, at P.S. 20. at 11 a.m. When contacted for comment about the latest incident, a DOE representative told Norwood News, “The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. NYPD quickly investigated this threat and deemed it non credible. Students returned to class.” The department is reportedly supporting the NYPD with their investigation into this series of recent bomb threats at the school.

 

We asked the department how long it took to evacuate the school on each occasion, and will update this story upon receipt of any response we receive.

 

According to the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, having a plan in the event of a bomb threat is essential. The agency provides the following assistance in this regard.

 

Have a Plan – Guidance for Facility Owners, Operators, and Managers

 

In reference to the initial incident on March 4, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson later wrote on social media, “Thankfully, this bomb threat was found to be non-credible. All staff and students of P.S. 20 were able to return to their school building. A very scary situation that could’ve been much, much worse.” She added, “Thank You first responders and the school team at P.S. 20 for the swift response and evacuation procedures in place to keep our students and educators safe. “

 

Anyone with information regarding any of these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are confidential.