HONOKAA — Police are investigating an alleged threat Wednesday morning at Honokaa High & Intermediate School that prompted administrators to evacuate and release students early for the day.
Tanya Moeller, parent of a Honokaa seventh-grader, said she received two calls from the school — the first around 11:30 a.m. — which notified parents of a “threatening phone call.”
Moeller said she was told the caller reportedly threatened to set off a bomb during fifth period. Fifth period runs from 11:41 a.m. to 12:18 p.m., according to the bell schedule posted on the school’s website.
Police said in a news release they responded late Wednesday morning to a report of a “threatening” message left earlier in the morning on the school’s voicemail system.
Police checked “every classroom and building but found no suspicious items,” the release said. Students were evacuated as a precaution to the Honokaa sports complex, and parents were notified to either pick them up or use provided bus transportation.
The incident has prompted police to initiate a first-degree terroristic threatening case.
Moeller said her “heart dropped” after getting the first phone call from the school, and she rushed to campus to pick up her daughter.
“There were so many people down at the complex gym,” Moeller said. “It was crazy.”
Moeller posted a screen shot of the school’s evacuation announcement to a Facebook group. She said she wanted to notify parents who may have been at work or unaware of the incident.
“It was very scary,” Moeller said. “You can’t take that kind of stuff lightly. Even though people make calls that aren’t real, you have to take precaution.”
The school will resume a normal schedule today, state Department of Education spokesman Derek Inoshita said. Administrators plan to send a letter home to parents, he added.
Police say anyone with information should call Officer Blake Ragoco at 775-7533 or the department’s non-emergency line, 935-3311.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.