ALLENTOWN — A bomb scare at Allentown High School recently shut down the entire Upper Freehold Regional School District as law enforcement personnel swept the buildings for any threats.
The Sept. 24 incident took place when an anonymous call was made to the high school. The caller claimed there was an explosive device in the building.
According to Capt. Stephen Jones of the New Jersey State Police Hamilton Barracks, the call came in just before 10:30 a.m. and led to the evacuation and lockdown of Allentown High School and the Newell Elementary School.
Both schools are in the Upper Freehold Regional School District complex on High Street.
State police troopers and Allentown police officers converged at the scene, with support from the New Jersey State Police Arson and Bomb Unit and a K-9 unit.
Superintendent of Schools Richard Fitzpatrick reported to parents via email that the incident also caused an evacuation and search of the Stone Bridge Middle School, which is not on the same campus as the high school and the elementary school.
According to school staff members who were not authorized to discuss the situation, the caller allegedly stated there was an explosive device “in a backpack” in Allentown High School. The call allegedly sounded like a pre-recorded message.
Jones declined to comment on the call itself, citing an ongoing investigation into the incident.
After completing a sweep of the buildings and finding no threats, police allowed students and staff to return for the rest of the school day.
Similar threats from an alleged computerized caller were also made to the Riverside Elementary School in Princeton, Mercer County, at about 10:17 a.m.
Earlier this year, police instituted a lockdown at Allentown High School and the Newell Elementary School following a false report of a gunman in the area.
In that instance, the state police said a dispatcher received a report that an armed individual was seen standing on the roof of Allentown High School. A lockdown of both schools in the High Street complex immediately went into effect until a sweep of both schools resulted in an all-clear signal from officials.