WORTHINGTON, Ohio — Worthington Kilbourne High School was closed for the day on Thursday after school officials received threats that targeted the school.
In a letter sent to families, Superintendent Trent Bowers said a staff member discovered an email that was sent overnight, which included threats to bomb and shoot up the school.
On Thursday morning, the district notified parents through email and social media of the decision to close the school because of an "ongoing safety threat."
"We could not, in good conscience, allow the school to remain open without local law enforcement who included the Columbus Police counter-terrorism task force and Ohio's branch of Homeland Security to verify the credibility of the threat we received," Bowers said.
In the letter, the superintendent said the school was swept in all spaces. Worthington Kilbourne High School will be open tomorrow morning with an active police presence.
The school will resume after-school activities at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
You can read the full letter to families below.
Dear Worthington Schools Families,
I hope this message brings some clarity regarding our decision to close Worthington Kilbourne High School today due to safety concerns. The decision was not made lightly as we will not compromise the safety of our community. I want to provide some context behind this precautionary measure.
Around 7:40 AM we discovered a threat that had been emailed overnight that contained both a bomb threat and a threat to shoot up the school. This required immediate attention and a serious response. Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community members. We could not, in good conscience, allow the school to remain open without working with local law enforcement who included the Columbus Police counter-terrorism task force and Ohio’s branch of homeland security to verify the credibility of the threat we received.
We’ve been working closely with law enforcement to investigate the threat. This partnership exemplifies the collaborative effort to ensure a safe learning environment and helps us manage such situations effectively and swiftly. Closing school like we did for a threat today invites the potential for more threats, and it’s important that all Worthington families work with their children to understand the seriousness and consequences of threats.
We understand that this closure may have caused concerns for many in our community and inconveniences for Worthington Kilbourne families, and we sincerely apologize for any distress. We are grateful for your patience, understanding, and support as we navigate through these challenging circumstances.
Administrative staff have swept all spaces in the school and we are planning to resume normal school activities with an active police presence tomorrow morning. We’re going to resume after-school activities at 3:00 P.M. today.
Trent Bowers
Superintendent