Threat closes Niles McKinley High School Thursday

Staff report

NILES

School officials evacuated Niles McKinley High School about 7:45 a.m. Thursday for a bomb threat, about 15 minutes into the school day.

The threat was specific to the high school, and other Niles buildings remained open.

Niles police also received information from the Ohio State University Police Department later in the morning that it had received a phone call reporting a bomb threat at Niles McKinley, said Niles Police Lt. Tony Johnson.

The high-school students were sent home for the rest of the day about 9 a.m. Bomb-sniffing dogs from Cleveland State University and Youngstown State University checked the high school and found no evidence of a bomb, Johnson said.

Nilles police found it surprising to learn that a bomb threat also had been received at 4:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, closing it down for the day; and that Greenville High School in Greenville, Pa., also received a bomb threat Thursday.

“We’re doing all we can to put the pieces together,” Johnson said of investigating the source of the call.