By Lizzy Tsuang
Executive News Editor
Students left campus at approximately 9:30 a.m. after Mira Costa’s main office secretary got a bomb threat at 8:08 a.m. from an anonymous caller, using a voice changer. Costa Administration evacuated the campus in less than 40 minutes.
Manhattan Beach Unified School District superintendent Michael Matthews said that he is planning to open school tomorrow, but is currently awaiting results of the Manhattan Beach Police Department investigation. The police began their campus-wide search of each classroom at approximately 10:30 a.m. According to Vice Principal Deborah Hofreiter, the search will take three to five hours.
“You don’t know if there is a bomb, you don’t know if that person was talking about a real bomb, you don’t know if they had a science test that they didn’t want to take,” Hofreiter said. “All of that is unknown. So when you have 2500 people sitting in a campus and they’re in a threat, you get them out.”
According to a Costa administrative plan, students driving themselves left through the softball field, students walking home left through the Meadows Avenue ramp and students whose parents were picking them up left through the tennis courts. Safety measures included a police blockade on Meadows Avenue which turned the area into a one way street for student pick up.
Matthews stated in his email that police will be present on and around campus before zero period tomorrow and will be checking on the campus throughout the night, regardless of results of the current police search.
“Your children are safe,” Matthews said in his email. “These measures are being taken in an abundance of caution. I thank you for your understanding. I thank all staff members for being incredibly professional and responsible.”
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