Several Whitman County schools sent bomb threat

COLFAX - Colfax School District and several other schools in Whitman County received an unspecified threat involving explosive devices on Wednesday, April 12, with up to 30 recipients in the email throughout the state.

Colfax Police Department immediately responded and spoke with school district leaders to discuss the threat and the best course of action to address the threat.

Colfax PD stated that the email was very general, however, there was no time to determine the credibility of the threats made. It was decided that the school district would put students in lockdown for "SAFE" teach while the premises were searched.

Several agencies coordinated with Colfax Police Department to address the threat, including Colfax Fire Department, Washington State Patrol, City of Colfax employees, and administration from the Colfax School District. The agencies quickly responded to the call from Colfax PD. The responders broke into four separate search teams to secure and search Jennings Elementary School and Colfax High School.

The search teams immediately canvassed the inside and outside of both buildings, using thermal imaging devices from Colfax Fire Department, with the help of school personnel. Once the buildings were cleared, the teams searched all fields, outdoor bleachers, school buses, and the rest of the immediate school grounds. No devices were found after the search concluded and students were able to be released on time.

According to the Whitman County Sherriff's Office, deputies and local law enforcement responded to Colfax, Endicott, St. John and Lamont and Sprague schools, as all had received the threat.

Spokane County Intel determined that the threat was a hoax after multiple searches were conducted throughout Eastern Washington. An investigation into the email's sender will be opened and followed through with collaboration from numerous Washington state agencies, per Colfax Police Department.

Colfax Police Department would like to thank the assistance of the School districts, the City of Colfax, and all the other agencies and individuals who helped conduct the response and search to keep the community safe.