False alarm at PBHS campus

City police responded around 3 p.m. Friday to a report of a potential threat at Poplar Bluff High School, which was determined to be a false alarm.

Dr. Scott Dill, R-I superintendent, said there was a report shortly before school let out, that a student had a weapon on the bus. The students were kept in their classrooms while police investigated, Dill said.

“We cannot thank the police department enough for their fast response,” he said.

Police determined it was a false alarm, Dill said.

Police Chief Danny Whiteley said officers were on the scene within a few minutes of the report being made. The initial report was made by a student.

Police found that the student who was reported instead had a cigarette lighter and some “stereo headphones,” he said, which “could have looked like a magazine for a pistol.”

Whiteley said he thinks the student who made the report did it out of precaution.

“Of course in today’s climate and time, you can’t take chances,” he said.

Whiteley said nobody was found with anything, which is the “best scenario.”

The students were held late in their classrooms during the investigation.

Dill said the school’s primary concern is to keep students safe, which sometimes means keeping them where they are.

“We’re going to do everything possible to keep our kids safe,” he said.

Law enforcement is still conducting interviews, Whiteley said.