Sacajawea Reopens After Third Bomb Scare School Says Device Found On Friday Was A Fake

A suspicious package discovered Friday at Sacajawea Middle School was not a bomb, school officials announced Sunday.

“It was not explosive, it was a fake,” said School District 81 spokeswoman Terren Roloff.

Roloff said district security officers have learned from Spokane Police that the device was harmless. However, its appearance spooked officials enough to cancel classes at the South Hill school and sent the 850 students home for the day.

Police spokesman Dick Cottam would not confirm that the device was a fake but said, “It’s not hard to make something look like a bomb.”

Sacajawea will reopen today with beefed up security and volunteer parents on patrol, Roloff said. Officers this weekend patrolled around-the-clock inside and outside the school. A final search will be conducted at 6:30 a.m. today.

“Parents can rest a little easier,” she said.

Police on Friday arrested a 14-year-old male student in connection with the bomb scare. The youth is expected to be arraigned today.

The package was found in a boys bathroom. Ignoring the possible danger, principal Herb Rotchford carried it across the street and put it in a garbage can before calling police.

The bomb scare was the third at Sacajawea in a week.

On May 28, windows were blown out by an explosive device. A bomb threat was phoned in last Wednesday.

Today begins the final week of school for District 81 and most other schools.