And Now... The Bomb Squad!
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Ever since I've been going there, Kalamazoo Central High School has had a few bomb threat events each school year. These incidents generally involve some kind of (false) bomb threat being received, the students being evacuated from the building, the police and fire department searching the school, the all-clear being sounded, and everybody going on about their business.

This was not the situation on February 7th, 2001. Although the full story is not known, it is believed that some kind of a threat was made before school started that day. The administration apparantly told security guards and staff who had cell phones that they needed to be turned off (hence the 11:00 P.A. announcement, "Attention Staff - It is now safe for you to turn your cellular phones back on once again."). However, the school was never evacuated, and no announcements were made to the students, although reports indicate that school officials were preventing students from entering certain isolated sections of the building at various times throughout the day.

Throughout the school day, all sorts of rumors were flying around the students; one such rumor was that the bomb squad was at the school, and had been there either all day, or at least for quite some time. Although many of the rumors have not yet been verified or disproved, it is true that the bomb squad was at the school around 12:30PM, and presumably for some time before, as evidenced by the photographs below.

What actually went on that day is, as of yet, unknown. When asked, the Kalamazoo Public Schools Department of Student Services supplied a story that indicated that there was never really any danger, and totally failed to explain the prolonged presence of the police and bomb squad at the school.