A student at Bayfield Middle School had brought a spool of wire and a nine-volt battery to school for the past week and was calling it a bomb.
He told students on Thursday that if they told anyone about it, he would hurt them.
That's when some students at Bayfield Middle School reported the incident to teachers, prompting an evacuation of the building on Thursday morning,
Bayfield Marshal Joe McIntyre said his staff searched the boy's house this afternoon with the parents' consent, and they did not find anything suspicious.
Deputies are checking computers and Internet sites the boy may have accessed, as well.
The student has been suspended, but McIntyre said he did not know for how long.
The marshal's office and school officials will conduct a threat assessment to see if anyone has any further concerns about the situation.
"All in all, we got the outcome we needed," McIntyre said. "We found the item, and the school staff dealt with the situation the best they could."
The school district sent this alert to parents on Thursday afternoon:
"At approximately 8 a.m. this morning, administrative staff at Bayfield Middle School were alerted by students of a suspicious item observed in the possession of a fellow student. Students and staff were immediately evacuated to a safe location, while law enforcement was called to the scene.
Local law enforcement searched the building and determined that the threat was unfounded and the building was deemed safe. Students and staff were permitted to enter the building and reported back to class.
Our goal is to respond quickly in order to minimize the impact of emergency situations and to provide accurate information about the incident. The school district's response efforts are determined by what will keep Bayfield students and staff most safe. Once this is determined, response communication begins.
At Bayfield School District, safety is our highest priority, and we take pride in knowing that our students feel comfortable to be active participants in their school's safety. We have a unified safety plan in place throughout the District based on two highly effective and respected programs: Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and Safe 2 Tell. Please follow these links to get a full understanding of how we use these programs to keep our students and staff safe."
Bayfield Middle School was evacuated Thursday morning after it was reported a student had a spool of wire and a nine-volt battery, possibly resembling a homemade bomb.
Marshal Joe McIntyre said his deputies were trying to determine if a threat was made that it was a bomb.
The student's father has said it was a homemade phone charger, McIntyre said.
Once school staff found out about the items, they decided to evacuate the school. A bomb detection dog from the La Plata County Sheriff's Department searched the building "and didn't hit on anything," he said.
"There was never any danger to staff or students," McIntyre said. His staff was preparing to search the student's home this afternoon, "just to cover our bases and make sure we don't have anything outside the school district that is a concern."
The student left campus and was taken for a medical evaluation, the marshal added.
During the evacuation students and staff were directed out to the school's bus parking lot, then moved inside to the sixth-grade hallway.
Marshal's deputies searched the building, then students went back to class.
After the incident, several parents came to the school and took their children home.
Some parents criticized the school district's response to the incident.
"First I called the school because my son had texted me from class and was a little panicked," said Jennifer Chamblee, the mother of a seventh grader at BMS. "They told me the school was secure, everyone was fine and back in class."
Chamblee said when she asked if she should get her son from school, she was told to call the superintendent's office. Chamblee said she hasn't been able to reach Amy Lyons, the interim superintendent.
"A whole bunch of kids were crying," said one student at the school.
Parents received a message and text about 10 a.m. notifying them of the potential threat and that the school was evacuated.
