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BRUCE ASATO/BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Deputy Chief Marie McCauley talks to reporters at a news conference at the Honolulu Police Department headquarters about the bomb threats that prompted evacuations at several schools this afternoon.
Honolulu police opened a first-degree terroristic threatening case after about a dozen schools received bomb threats this afternoon.
Police said today they are taking the threats seriously, especially because the case involves young children.
According to a Department of Education official, Farrington, Kaimuki, Kalani, Radford and Moanalua high schools; and Washington Middle School received the telephoned threats.
Assets School, Maryknoll School and Damien Memorial School also received threats.
A Maryknoll spokesman said the threat was called in 2:05 p.m., and police gave an “all clear” at 2:45 p.m.
Police said the threats occurred between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Many schools had already finished classes for the day.
Honolulu police said they are looking at the phone numbers where the calls originated and are asking for the public’s help in finding out who made the threats.
“Even false or prank calls require a police response, so all these officers who responded to these events were taken away from actual 9-1-1 emergency calls,” Honolulu Deputy Police Chief Marie McCauley said at a news conference today at police headquarters.
McCauley said the perpetrators of the prank face arrest on suspicion of first-degree terroristic threatening, a felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
Not funny! I hope HPD catches the people who called in these bomb threats.
agree. I hope they prosecute the culprit.
There is indeed a fungus amoung us. What pathetic losers who will be living off our tax dollars in the future.
Always just a hand full of losers disrupting the community on a daily basis.
Good luck finding the irresponsible people causing these bomb threats!
What is happening at the public schools???? graffiti??? now bomb threats???…They play, They will pay!
If caught, a stern example should be made of the culprit. I’ll wager, though, that the caller is most likely a juvenile, in which case little more than a slap on the wrist is the best we can hope for.
There will be more of these pranks if it gets publicized. So just let it go.
They’ve got the phone number(s), and I doubt if the perps have the brains to spoof those numbers so HPD should make quick work of this case. Public input probably not even needed. Throw the book at the punk(s).
Knowing Hawaii’s judiciary, I’m not sure what good throwing a comic book at the perpetrators is going to do.
“McCauley said the perpetrators of the prank” How do they know it was a prank? Maybe the culprits were watching to see how they responded and how long it took.
Well offer a reward for the arrest and “conviction” of those responsible and prosecute and have them serve the maximum jail time and publicize ongoing incarceration. Perhaps some don’t realize…or perhaps some do…this is an act of domestic terrorism. Put a stop to in now.
Appropriate response. We need to go for the max with those who threaten all of our people through our children. This is not a minor offense.