UPDATE: Fall River Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Matthew Malone released the following statement regarding today's bomb threat:

The most important part of today, is that all of our employees and all of our students are safe.

Today, Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at approximately 12:05 p.m., we received four anonymous phone calls indicating a very specific bomb threat at Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, MA. Three of these calls were placed to the school; simultaneously, the other was placed to the police station. The school’s administration immediately contacted the Fall River Police Department and sheltered in place while the Fall River Police Department, Fall River Fire Department, Superintendent Malone and members of the district operation’s team, all dispatched to the school immediately.

During the threat assessment, we decided, out of an abundance of caution, to evacuate all students and staff to the school’s secondary rally point, Viveiros Elementary School. The safety of our students and our faculty are always our number one priority in situations such as this. With the assistance of faculty, staff, and public safety officials, students were safely evacuated from the building and escorted by foot to the Viveiros Elementary School, located approximately six-tenths of a mile from Kuss Middle School. Once in route, Principal Maria Pontes, sent a communication out to families, via School Messenger call, that all students were safe at Viveiros, having conducted an evacuation due to an anonymous bomb threat. Simultaneously, we communicated the same via Twitter and Facebook. Students were released to family members or transported home on their regularly assigned bus at the normal Wednesday dismissal time, from this alternate location, and we appreciate the patience and flexibility of the parents.

Once everyone in the building was evacuated safely, a search team, led by FRPD - including 7 bomb-sniffing dogs - conducted a thorough sweep of the building. This search took approximately 3 hours. The building is clear. There is no bomb in Kuss Middle School. If anyone has any information regarding these anonymous bomb threat calls, please contact the Fall River Police Department immediately.
I can’t stress strongly enough, how proud I am of our faculty, staff, students and school leadership at both Kuss and Viveiros, for their amazing response to a real-world crisis situation. Further, the Fall River Police, Fire, and EMS are the very best in the business. The joint tactical response from local, regional, and state K-9 units was impeccable. I am proud to be the Superintendent of the Fall River Public Schools; our entire team performed heroically today.


 

FALL RIVER — A Fall River middle school was evacuated this afternoon following a bomb threat.

The Matthew J. Kuss Middle School was evacuated following an anonymous phone call indicating a bomb threat at the school, according to a statement released by Fall River Public Schools. School officials immediately notified both Fall River Police and the Fall River Fire Department, and were advised to shelter in place.

Police and fire officials responded to the school, and out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to evacuate the school and sent students to Viveiros Elementary School. All students and staff were escorted to Viveiros, with the Fall River School Department pointing out in the statement that everyone was safe.

The Kuss building was then completely and thoroughly searched, while students were bused home from Viveiros to their regular bus stops.

According to the statement, the school will communicate with families when it has more information.

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