The London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) says a pair of local schools will reopen to staff and students on Wednesday, a day after they were forced to close following an emailed bomb threat.
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School in London, Ont. and St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in St. Thomas were shut down and buses for the two schools were also cancelled after London and St. Thomas police services confirmed a bomb threat had been received.
St. Thomas police and the London Police Service Explosives Disposal Unit searched both schools for an explosive device after the threat was received via email around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Both police services later reported that nothing suspicious had been found inside or outside either school.
A statement issued late Tuesday afternoon by the school board said officials had been assured “that there are no concerns regarding public safety.”
“The threat was conveyed to the school board,” Mark Adkinson, communication and public relations manager with LDCSB, told Global News Tuesday morning.
“As police are requiring to do investigation at both schools, we had to make the decision early this morning to close the schools as a precaution and for practical purposes.”
Adkinson said teachers and staff would reach out to students through the Virtual Learning Environment, when “appropriate and possible.”
“It wouldn’t be like face to face online learning,” he explained. “It would be through teachers potentially directing students to, for example, read certain chapters or work or perform complete some assignments just to be prepared for the next day.”
Members of the community were asked to refrain from speculation or circulating rumours, especially those that may appear online.
“Please know the LDCSB takes any threat very seriously,” read the school board’s statement. “Safety is of paramount importance to everyone at the LDCSB.”
The Fanshawe College St. Thomas campus also cancelled all in-person classes Tuesday due to police activity.
St. Thomas police reported Tuesday afternoon that nothing suspicious was found inside or outside the Fanshawe College campus.
Police continue to investigate the source of the threat.