Bomb threat closes school

HAWTHORNE – Hawthorne Middle School and Hawthorne High School were evacuated Thursday morning, Dec. 5, following a bomb threat.

Students at­ the school were immediately led to the football stadium while the Alachua County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) searched the school for possible explosives.

The students waited in the football stadium until the deputies finished their search and then allowed students back into class. The schools reopened around 11:30 a.m., according to reports from the ACSO.

The county kept parents updated on the bomb threat through the Alachua County public schools website and the county’s Twitter account.

Many students were checked out after the school said that parents could take students home directly from the football stadium.

Notifications for the bomb threat were sent out immediately. Deputies later determined the bomb threat was a false alarm.

The updates on Twitter let parents know that school would still be in session on Friday.

Art Forgey, public information officer for Alachua County Sheriff's Office, was unavailable to comment on the bomb threat.

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