For the third time in two days, a local school was forced to evacuate due to a threat.
Gainesville Middle School was evacuated Thursday morning due to a bomb threat written on a bathroom wall, according to Gainesville Police Sgt. Kevin Holbrook.
The Gainesville City School System said Thursday afternoon that the schoool has now been completely checked and is now completely "clear and safe."
All students were present and accounted for, and taken to First Baptist Church on Green Street, officials said.
Students not already checked out by their parents were dismissed at their regular time of 3:25 p.m. from the church's banquet hall, according to Sarah Bell with the Gainesville City School System.
The school system released a statment Thursday afternoon addressing the incident.
"Our Gainesville Middle School students, parents, and staff are to be commended for their response and cooperation during the evacuation. It should be noted that almost 2,000 people were evacuated off-site, and all students were returned home safely to their families this afternoon," the release said.
The incident comes in a week in which several northeast Georgia schools have been evacuated. On Wednesday, Jackson County schools were placed on lockdown following a hoax 911 call claiming there was a gunman on the campus of one of the county schools. A 16-year-old girl faces charges for that incident.
Wednesday afternoon, North Hall Middle School was locked down following a bomb threat discovered on a bathroom wall. A student was arrested for the incident.
While it didn't involve a threat, a sophomore at East Hall High School was also arrested Wednesday for allegedly trying to distribute 39 doses of LSD on the school's campus.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/3/518785/gainesville-middle-school-evacuated-due-to-possible-bomb-threat