Update - 4 p.m: Rocky Hill Superintendent of Schools Mark Zito told Rocky Hill Patch that the Rocky Hill Police Department, East Hartford Police Department and Hartford Bomb Squad swept the high school and gave the building an "all clear."
School is on for Tuesday as scheduled.
Original story:
Local police are investigating a reported bomb scare at Rocky Hill High School Monday morning, which officials said stemmed from a misguided, cryptic text message sent from a Rocky Hill student to an East Hartford person.
RHHS students were sent home as police sent investigators, equipped with a bomb squad, to sweep the school for any indications of a threat. There were no reports of injuries.
The incident started at 9:45 a.m. when East Hartford police contacted police in Rocky Hill about a suspicious text message that an East Hartford resident got on a cell phone, said Lt. Brian Klett, public information officer.
The message contained the words “bomb,” “Rocky Hill,” and “school,” although it was broken up and not in a full sentence, police said. The East Hartford person who got the message told police they weren't familiar with the number and thought they got it in error, Klett said.
When East Hartford officials sourced the location of the phone that sent the message, they discovered it came from a Rocky Hill resident. Local police then went to the home where the text message came from and a woman in the home confirmed that the number was her son’s cell phone.
Rocky Hill police located and interviewed the student who sent the message. He told police the reference to a bomb was a discussion about a prank material known as a “stink bomb.”
As a precaution, Rocky Hill dismissed the high school just prior to noon. Investigators called in a bomb disposal team and police dogs to sweep the area.
The matter is being investigated and police are working to determine whether criminal charges are applicable.
Police did not identify the student, his age or grade.
