Reading High School was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after officials reported a bomb threat, forcing the cancellation of all after-school activities while police worked to track down who was behind it.
The evacuation happened around 2:27 p.m. local time, according to NBC10 Philadelphia, which reported that school officials said the campus was cleared and afterschool programs scrapped because of the threat. The Reading Police Department is investigating the source of the threat, but officials said no additional details were immediately available.
It's not the first time this month that a threat has rattled the Reading School District. A bomb threat reported over the weekend was ultimately determined to be unfounded, according to WFMZ, which reported that a complete search of the area led police to clear the scene. Authorities said at the time that they were continuing to investigate the source of that threat, though it remains unclear whether it was connected to Tuesday's incident at Reading High School.
A String of Threats Hits Philadelphia Schools the Same Day
Tuesday's scare in Reading wasn't an isolated event. School officials and law enforcement were simultaneously investigating apparent threats targeting at least two Philadelphia schools that morning, per CBS Philadelphia. Students were evacuated from Masterman School and several other schools across the district, the same NBC10 report notes, with Masterman, Hill-Freedman World Academy and Rhodes School all placed on lockdown as a precaution.
The timeline for when those Philadelphia lockdowns ended is murky. CBS Philadelphia reported that police said all lockdowns had been lifted by 12:10 p.m., while NBC10's separate report stated that the listed schools were cleared and lockdowns lifted by about 1:45 p.m. Despite the overlapping scares, officials said there is no information indicating the threats affecting Reading High School and the Philadelphia schools are related or came from the same source.
Part of a Broader Wave Targeting Public Institutions
The school threats came just a day after a very different kind of public space was targeted. The Cape May County Park & Zoo in Middle Township was evacuated and placed on lockdown Monday after police received a bomb threat over the phone, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. Visitors and staff were evacuated and animals were secured, Cape May County Government officials said in a statement on Facebook, as reported by NJ.com.
No bombs were found during an initial sweep of the zoo, though investigators said they planned a second sweep Tuesday, the outlet reported. NJ.com also noted that about 40 swatting incidents have been recorded at zoos around the country since spring, citing information from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and that authorities have reported a broader rise in fabricated emergency threats targeting public institutions including zoos, schools and airports.
For now, the source behind Tuesday's Reading High School threat remains under investigation, with no arrests or additional details disclosed by officials. Families and students in the district are left waiting, much as those connected to the Philadelphia schools and the Cape May County zoo have been this week, for authorities to determine who is responsible for the spate of threats rippling across the region.
