KEARNY –
As reported online by The Observer last week, a written bomb threat was found in Kearny High School on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 7, forcing evacuation of the building and cancellation of adult evening classes and a KHS basketball game.
Luckily, there was no bomb. But we can now report the exact nature of the threat.
According to police, a school custodian found the following messages scrawled on the walls of a boys’ bathroom on the second floor:
“Praise be to Allah”
“Muslims rule”
And, “Ima [sic] blow this muthaf—a up”
The discovery was made at 5:30 p.m., and the evacuation and cancellations were ordered immediately “out of an abundance of caution,” authorities noted.
KPD detectives and patrol officers and members of the Kearny Fire Department responded and performed a full sweep of the building in conjunction with KHS maintenance and security personnel.
“Afterward,” the KPD noted, “bomb-sniffing dogs from Jersey City Police Department Bomb Squad performed a secondary search of the school. Nothing dangerous was found.” [Editorial comment: “Nothing dangerous,” that is, aside from the inflammatory, incendiary graffiti.]
The building was declared safe at 8:30 p.m., but school activities were not resumed until the following day.
The KPD launched an immediate investigation into who might have been responsible for the threat, and that probe is ongoing, by both the Detective Bureau and the Juvenile Aid Bureau.
Security footage is being viewed, and interviews with students – at KPD headquarters and in the presence of their guardians – began last week.
