After a bomb threat, a loud bang was heard at Modesto’s Beyer High. What was it?
The bang that sounded like a shotgun being fired Thursday afternoon at Beyer High School was not an explosive, but the Sheriff Department’s bomb squad opening a suspicious bag.
The bomb squad and Modesto police were called to the school to respond to a bomb threat that had been reported about 1:30 p.m. Students and staff were evacuated and the school day ended early.
The bag turned out to have football gear in it, according to Modesto police.
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Detective Raj Singh said Friday the bomb squad used what he called an “energetic tool” to open the suspicious bag. He said the tool sounds like a shotgun being fired when it’s deployed.
Singh, who also is a member of the bomb squad, declined to say more, to safeguard the squad’s operations.
Police officers identified the student who made the threat, and the student was taken into custody at the student’s home on suspicion of falsely reporting a bomb or explosive device, Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said Friday in a text.
The student was taken to Juvenile Hall. “No motive has been determined at this time,” Bear said in her text.
The incident happened on the third day of the new school year. Law enforcement were called after “two students brought a duffel bag into the office and reported that another student claimed an explosive was inside the bag. As a precaution, the school is currently being evacuated,” according to a school district message sent to parents Thursday.
This story was originally published August 16, 2024 at 12:54 PM.
