Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Montgomery County School officials are hoping there aren’t any more bomb threats after two incidents forced the evacuation of Walter Johnson and Winston Churchill High Schools.

Police searched both schools and found nothing, according to Montgomery County Schools spokesperson Derek Turner.

“All educators are really frustrated and concerned because it’s not only that you’re missing some instructional time, but when the kids do come back in, they’re distracted and can’t focus,” Turner said.

Not only did the threats disrupt learning, but Turner said they also wasted the police department’s valuable time.

Turner said they are hoping there aren’t any more of these threats, but said they are prepared to handle any that could come in.

“At the end of the day, we have to take the safety of our kids over everything else, and so we have to respond regardless of the threat and whether it’s happened once or ten times,” Turner said.

The bomb threats come after other threats to schools in the county last week. Last Thursday, 18-year-old Clarksburg High School Student Alwin Chen was arrested and charged with bringing a loaded 9 mm handgun to school.

Last Friday, a15-year-old student was charged with disrupting school operations after police said he posted something on social media about guns at Northwest High School. A school spokesperson told WMAL that day that officials also received information about a possible threat at another high school, but the situation was quickly resolved.

Montgomery is hardly alone. Counties across the region have dealt with similar threats in the week following the schools shootings in Parkland, Florida.

Fairfax City officials are dealing with online threats made against Fairfax High School Wednesday. Someone on Twitter unleashed a series of obscenity-laced messages threatening both the school and police officials after complaining of being punished for skipping school. Police and school officials say they are investigating the threats, and have responded with additional security at the school, including additional police patrols and measures that are not going to be visible to the public.

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