Suspicious Device Found at School
October 16, 2007 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
Scranton: The Scranton bomb squad was called to a school in the city after what police call a suspicious package was found there.
A suspicious package brought Scranton police to Holy Cross High School on Wyoming Avenue, the school formerly known as Bishop Hannan.
They blocked off the street and a nearby alley as a precaution. The bomb squad was called in to investigate.
“We had a package that was brought into the building by a street person or a person from the street. They claim they thought it was a student’s book bag that had a pipe hanging out of it. It was handed to the dean of students who is typically at the front door in the morning. He immediately took it to the side exit and we put it behind a cement wall, because we had a little bit of concern,” explained principal Jim Marcks.
Perhaps the most frightening part is that the device actually made its way into the building. There are 225 students at the school, plus about 30 faculty and staff.
Students and staff were moved to the other side of the building, but were not forced to leave. Police said that’s standard procedure when it comes to suspicion of a pipe bomb. Flying shrapnel is the main concern if it had exploded.
Fortunately, it did not.
“There was a pipe with some end caps on it, which, according to our hazardous device unit, was similar to a pipe bomb, but of course there was no explosive material in it whatsoever,” said Scranton Police Captain Carl Graziano.
“From what we were told the students were in no danger. We followed the directions of the police department in regards to what they felt was in their best safety and that’s what we did,” Principal Marcks added.
Police said the man who brought the package in appears to have tried to help, thinking it was a student’s bag left on the steps of the building.
He is not considered a suspect.
As for who put the bag there, Scranton police are still investigating.
