MORGAN HILL
– Martin Murphy Middle School students spent more than an hour
outside the school Monday morning as San Jose Police officers and
school officials combed the campus for a bomb.
MORGAN HILL – Martin Murphy Middle School students spent more than an hour outside the school Monday morning as San Jose Police officers and school officials combed the campus for a bomb.
The decision to evacuate the school on Avenida Espana and Avenida Grande in south San Jose was made at 9:34 a.m., just 13 minutes after a call came in at 9:21 a.m., SJPD Public Information Officer Steve Dixon said Monday afternoon. Students were released back to their normal schedule at 10:42 after no bomb was found. Then they were then told by Martin Murphy Principal Rhoda Wolfskehl the reason for the evacuation.
“A custodian found the written threat,” Dixon said. “There was some damage to vending machines at the school over the weekend, and this (the threat) may have been written at the same time.” Wolfskehl said one vending machine at Martin Murphy and a few at nearby Los Paseos Elementary were damaged.
Dixon said SJPD officers have responded to four bomb threats in three weeks at San Jose area schools. Wolfskehl said the police department liaison for the school told her there had been a rash of similar vandalism at schools in the area over the past few weeks.
Wolfskehl sent a letter home with students explaining the event, and Los Pasos Principal Joanne Yinger also sent a letter to parents.
The response of the SJPD was quick and impressive, Wolfskehl said.
“You couldn’t believe how quickly they came,” she said. “We had 11 or 12 officers here so fast you wouldn’t believe it.”
The officers set up a command center on the campus, and Wolfskehl and her assistant accompanied officers on an inspection of the campus “to see if we noticed anything out of place,” she said.
Other officers helped teachers keep an eye on students.
“The students behaved wonderfully,” Wolfskehl said. “The officers even commented on their cooperation. You could really tell that they had been through pre-rehearsals and drills.”
Wolfskehl also said the teachers handled the whole situation very well, and she was grateful for their support, as well as the support of the district.
“I received immediate support from the superintendent (Carolyn McKennan) and the assistant superintendent (Denise Tate), and Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini came over and stayed throughout the incident,” she said. “Burnett Principal Bob Davis also came, and of course Joanne (Yinger) and I were in constant contact.”
Officers determined it was not necessary to evacuate Los Paseos. Wolfskehl said Monday afternoon that though she was disturbed that someone would create the hoax, and was very thankful that it was only a hoax, she was trying to view it in a positive light.
“It was a learning experience for us,” she said. “The teachers were great. We were able to see that the drills were productive and to learn that there are some other things we could do to improve.”
