12-year-old arrested in school bomb threat

A 12-year-old Bonners Ferry Middle School student was arrested today in connection with a bomb threat that cleared the campus late Wednesday afternoon. The handwritten threat was discovered on a bathroom wall around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Bonners Ferry Police Department. Students were immediately evacuated from the school as police, the Boundary County Sheriff’s Department and fire department officals searched lockers, classrooms and storage rooms for explosive devices. No bomb was found. Investigators returned to the school today and interviewed several students who were considered persons of interest. Based on physical evidence recovered at the school, officers arrested the suspect, said Police Chief Robert Boone. The student was released to the custody of his parents. The case will be submitted to the prosecuting attorney for possible charges of making a false bomb threat, which is a felony, Boone said. The incident followed a string of bomb threats that has disrupted classes at both Bonners Ferry High School and the middle school over the past two years. Police say it’s time intensive to check the schools for bombs and interview suspects.