High school bomb threat in Cherokee Co. just graffiti
Scrawling on a high school bathroom wall was interpreted as a bomb threat in Cherokee County Monday, but a day later officials were telling parents that it was a false alarm.
In an open letter to the public Tuesday, Etowah High School Principal Keith L. Ball wrote that a bomb threat on a boys' restroom wall led to a fruitless search for an explosive.
"We have completed multiple inspections of the entire campus (including the roofs) and no additional threat or evidence of the original threat was found. At this time based on our information, it appears that the incident was one more of graffiti than a credible threat to safety," Ball wrote. He added that school police and administrators would "continue to execute all appropriate due diligence components."
Police were sent to open the campus Tuesday morning though there were no additional threats.
Ball told students and staff about the graffiti Monday. A spokeswoman for the Cherokee County School District said no one stayed away from school as a result of the announcement.
"I wasn't aware we had any attendance issues," said the spokeswoman, Carrie Budd.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
