Suspicious suitcase leads to school evacuating building

Taken by itself it would seem suspicious but not unprecedented, read a little further and you will see a pattern. That raises it up a few notches. This could be a probe or dry run.

By MATT SWEARENGIN, SENIOR Staff Writer, Durant Daily Democrat
14 September, 2007
DURANT – The Northwest Heights Elementary School was evacuated this morning after a suitcase was found taped to a slide on the playground.

There has not been a bomb threat, but authorities are treating the device as a possible explosive and plan to detonate it on site. A perimeter was set up around the school.

Durant Police Lt. Johnny Rutherford said at the scene that the suitcase was found at approximately 9 a.m. The students were sent to the Intermediate School and parents were allowed to pick their children up if they chose to do so.

Word of the evacuation spread quickly this morning. Many concerned parents went to the scene to ask about their children.

According to Rutherford, The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is bringing a robot from Oklahoma City to reach the device. OHP Bomb Technician Robert Daws is on the scene and Rutherford said they plan to remove the suitcase from the slide and detonate it on the playground. Residents who live on the north edge of Olive Street will be asked to leave their homes or at least stay in the front area of their houses away from the playground.

Rutherford said a national news station aired a story recently about terror threats to schools. Police Chief Gary Rudick told Rutherford that Midwest City and Oklahoma City had incidents that appeared to be similar to the incident this morning after that story was broadcast.

Additional details were not available at press time.

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