Threat Prompts Cancellation of Classes at St. Josephs School – UPDATE – Arrest Made
Due to threatening messages left on the school answering machine, classes were cancelled Wednesday at the Catholic School in Kennewick.
(UPDATED INFORMATION)
According to our news partner KNDU-TV, school officials arriving early Wednesday morning found several threatening messages had been left on the school's answering machine.
The messages reportedly threatened an attack on the school. Police did not say if the caller or callers left specific details about how that would happen. Children arriving were gathered in the church until parents or other adults could pick them up again, but they were not allowed into the school.
The school, located on 4th Ave. in Kennewick, is being searched for possible evidence by police, and they are securing the area to make sure it's safe.
UPDATE - Kennewick police have made an arrest related to the phone threats. They were able to trace the cell calls that were made to St. Joseph's School, and 20-year-old Cesar Olveda of Kennewick has been arrested. He is charted with 9 Counts of Making Bomb threats, which is a Class B Felony. He is in the Benton County Jail. What his motivation was for making the threats is not yet.