Police storm Indiana school after threats of shooting

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.  — Dozens of police officers stormed a western Indiana high school Friday after a caller claimed he was inside with explosives and a rifle and would start shooting students if he didn’t receive a ransom, police said.

A male called the Terre Haute Police Department about 10:30 a.m. and said he was in a bathroom at Terre Haute North High School armed with a rifle and a bag of explosives, Police Chief John Plasse said hours after authorities determined the threats were a hoax.

The caller said he would begin shooting students if he didn’t receive a ransom within 10 minutes, or if students left the building. Plasse said the caller made other threats after he was transferred to police dispatch.

The school’s 1,800 students and their teachers were told to shelter in classrooms while about 50 officers entered the school, some holding their rifles to their shoulders, ready to fire if needed, the Tribune-Star reported.

Students were later moved to the school’s gym while a bomb-sniffing police dog checked the entire school, which has 104 classrooms.

After no bombs or weapons were found inside the school, the student body was released just before 3 p.m. to nervous parents who had gathered outside, while other students were taken home by school bus.

Plasse pleaded with the public for help finding the caller and vowed that authorities will bring whoever made the threats to justice.

“We want to track down who did this. It’s an unnecessary event, that put a lot of people in fear today, and we’re going to make sure whoever did this is held accountable for what they did,” he said at a news conference.