Snohomish preschool evacuates over bomb threat

Detectives are investigating a bomb threat made at a Snohomish County preschool Wednesday morning that forced students and staff to evacuate.

According to KIRO 7, the bomb threat was for the Goddard School and Daycare on Seattle Hill Road in Snohomish. It happened at 11 a.m. Wednesday, causing approximately 100 people to leave the building and gather in the attached parking lot.

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“I saw all the kids were coming out of this place here and going to Chase Bank with all the teachers around them,” Khalid Siddiqui, a witness, told KIRO 7. “I see right away, after maybe a few minutes, the parents started coming to get their kids home.”

Authorities brought in bomb squads and police dogs before declaring it “all clear” as no bomb was found at the school or nearby premises. The Washington State Patrol (WSP) bomb tech K-9 team even performed a second sweep of the premises.

“Absolutely nothing was found,” Courtney O’Keefe, director of communications for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, said. “No suspicious packages, nothing suspicious with the school grounds in any way.”

Law enforcement officials are investigating whoever called in the threat to confirm whether it was a false report or not.

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“If this was some sort of prank, there can be criminal charges behind that and we certainly are working to ID the suspect involved,” O’Keefe added.

Contributing: KIRO 7

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.