Students and staff at Sonia Sotomayor High School on San Antonio's far Northwest Side filed out of the building Tuesday after a bomb threat was called in to the campus. Northside ISD officials said the school followed standard evacuation procedures, and that all students and staff were confirmed safe.
The district said Northside ISD police were conducting a precautionary sweep of the building after the threat came in, according to KENS 5. District officials also said authorities had identified the individual believed responsible for the threat, though no further details on that person were released. Northside ISD said additional updates would be shared as more information becomes available.
A Campus That's Faced Threats Before
This is not the first time Sotomayor High School has been at the center of a security scare. Back in April 2023, authorities reported threats against both Dr. Joe J. Bernal Middle School and Sotomayor High School, prompting increased police presence at both campuses as a precaution, the same outlet's earlier report notes. That episode came alongside the arrest of a sixth-grade student on felony charges tied to a TikTok-related bomb threat against Bernal, a threat authorities ultimately deemed not credible.
Threats at other Northside ISD schools have followed a similar pattern. At Briscoe Middle School, campus administrators and district police investigated threatening comments allegedly made by a student, and the Bexar County Sheriff's Office assisted as police detained the student at home for further questioning, per the same account.
Part Of A Broader Pattern Across Texas
Tuesday's evacuation lands amid a wider wave of bomb threats that have rattled Texas schools in recent months. In February, multiple Texas high schools, including campuses in San Antonio, were evacuated after threats that authorities said appeared to be part of a coordinated swatting-style hoax, as reported by Express-News. Authorities in Schertz said at the time that the threats appeared to be a concerted effort and that there was no intelligence suggesting they were credible, while officials in Anna ISD said several schools across the region and state appeared to receive the same message.
That February wave hit campuses well beyond San Antonio. Steele High School in Cibolo was evacuated over a voicemail threat and closed for the rest of the day for a law-enforcement sweep, Boerne High School was cleared to reopen by 8:45 a.m. after investigators found no credible threat, and Georgetown High School was searched with nothing suspicious located, the Express-News reported.
How Other Local Campuses Have Handled The All-Clear
Other recent San Antonio-area incidents show how quickly these situations can resolve once police finish their searches. At Churchill High School, an unknown caller reported multiple bombs on campus around 9:15 a.m. from a blocked number, and North East ISD said police had concluded their search and given the all-clear by 10:20 a.m., allowing students and staff to return to class, KENS 5 reported in a separate incident. A similar scenario played out in Arlington, where Ditto, Oakridge and Swift elementary schools were all evacuated over threats, with Ditto students bused to Martin High School, before officials cleared all three campuses by noon after finding no suspicious devices, according to a CBS News report.
It remains unclear whether Tuesday's threat at Sotomayor is connected to any of these other recent incidents. Northside ISD has not released the identity of the person believed responsible or specified what, if any, consequences they may face, and the district says it will provide more information as the situation develops.
