Students and staff at Fort Hamilton High School have been given the “all clear” to return to school since evacuating early Monday morning after an unknown person phoned in a bomb threat. The threat was officially deemed a prank by police almost two hours later.
“Police responded,” a Police Department spokesperson told Brooklyn Paper. “They did a sweep of the school and no suspicious packages were located at that location.”
“We are all clear at Fort Hamilton High School in #Bay Ridge,” Councilmember Justin Brannan posted to social media at 12:30 pm on May 16. Brannan said police found no devices at the Shore Road school, and thanked law enforcement for their extensive work ensuring the safety of the student body.
12:30 PM: We are ALL CLEAR at Fort Hamilton High School in #BayRidge. No devices found. Call was a sick prank. Thanks to all our local law enforcement partners for their help.
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) May 16, 2022
Brannan — who represents Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst — shared updates on the situation as it unfolded, and since it was first announced around 10:45 am. Students and staff were first placed on “soft lockdown” before being evacuated to allow for a more thorough sweep by police, who Brannan said initially believed the phone call to be a prank.
10:45 AM: NYPD is on the scene at Fort Hamilton High School. Unknown person called in a bomb threat. School is on "soft lockdown". Will update when I get more info. PD believes the call was a sick prank but checking obviously out of abundance of caution. #BayRidge @NYPD68Pct
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) May 16, 2022
Those inside the building were evacuated onto the football field at around 11 am so New York’s Finest could conduct a full search “out of extreme caution,” Brannan said, adding that a Level 1 Mobilization had been ordered, prompting the Police Department’s Emergency Services and K-9 units to do a full sweep of the sprawling school.
A press representative at the city Board of Education said students have returned to school since the “all clear” was issued.
“The safety of our students and staff is our top priority,” said Nathaniel Styer. “NYPD quickly investigated this threat and deemed it noncredible. Students returned to class.”
Bay Ridge State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus and Congressmember Nicole Malliotakis all also confirmed the “all clear” on social media.
This isn’t the first time Fort Hamilton High School has come under phony threat. Officers from the local 68th Precinct investigated another phoned-in bomb threat at Fort Hamilton in October, which also turned out to be a hoax.
A spokesperson for the school declined to comment.
