While students are evacuating, a broken ceiling sprinkler sets
off a fire alarm
Morgan Hill – Two unrelated incidents forced the evacuation of Sobrato High School for about 45 minutes Thursday morning. The two events overlapped each other; the first was a false bomb threat that came in shortly after 8:30am; the second was a broken ceiling sprinkler that minutes later set off a fire alarm, Principal Rich Knapp said Thursday.
“We received information that some students may be planning to set off a bomb,” Knapp said. “We immediately took it seriously and contacted Morgan Hill Police.”
Police responded and conducted a thorough investigation, but as they were beginning the investigation, the fire alarm went off, Knapp said.
“Workers over in the food service area broke off a sprinkler head, which set off the fire alarm,” he said.
MHPD Cmdr. Joe Sampson said two male students were taken into custody, their parents contacted, for interviews with detectives.
“Whenever we have something like this, a threat of potential danger to the students and staff, we take it very seriously,” Sampson said.
The potential threat was made known to a Sobrato administrator or teacher by a female student, he said.
Once the two male students were taken to the police station, some students said they were told the two students belonged to a gang, but not the “typical” Sureño or Norteño, and that a larger “incident,” similar to what happened at Columbine High School, was planned.
“The boys are not known to us as gang members,” Sampson said. “We have no knowledge of this other gang. We have no information at this time to suggest that anything else was planned.”
The students were still being interviewed late Thursday afternoon.
The “rumor mill,” Sampson said, is often very active on school campuses, but said the police department would still take the matter seriously and conduct a thorough investigation.
Knapp said the investigation is ongoing, and because there are juveniles involved, he could not give the names of the students.
“There was no bomb, but because of the seriousness of the situation, there is always disciplinary action involved,” he said.
A letter was sent home with Sobrato students describing the incident. Students were on an adjusted schedule for the rest of the day.
