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Rider, WFISD campus receives bomb threat
August 13, 2021
One of the biggest fears of every parent, student and staff member was sparked Friday as five WFISD campuses were evacuated today due to bomb threats.
According to the WFISD Facebook page, Rider received a bomb threat at 1:45 p.m., followed by Hirschi at 1:50 p.m. and Old High, Kirby and Barwise after. All schools were evacuated directly after each call.
This was Old High’s second threat of the week, as they also received a phone call Thursday afternoon saying there was a bomb in a student’s backpack.
At 1:59 p.m., Rider parents were notified about the situation via email and were informed that all students were safely evacuated and local police officials and the fire department were “investigating the validity of the threat.”
On the Rider campus, students were directed to the field that separates the Rider football field and Jefferson Elementary School. Teachers counted their students and were told to stay together as a class.
Numerous students were affected by the scorching Texas heat and were taken in first responder vehicles, where they could recover.
After a period of time, Rider office staff began to pass out water for students and staff near the Jefferson pavilion.
Some Raiders were escorted into Jefferson, where they could get out of the 97-degree weather and into some air conditioning.
After over an hour of waiting, the “all clear” was given at 3:02 p.m., according to the WFISD Facebook page, and were sent to check in with their seventh period teachers before being released.
The “all clear” for all five campuses was received at 3:08 p.m.
Soon after, WFISD made an announcement that the “WFISD phone system will no longer accept calls from anonymous or private numbers.” on their Facebook.
Football practice and the tennis tournament were cancelled for the day at Rider campus.
Wichita Falls Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator(s). If you have any information, call (940) 322-9888.