New Zealand

More threats made to several schools around the country

July 28, 2022 5:00 pm

Police outside Cambridge High School on Tuesday.

Several schools around New Zealand have received threats this morning.

Awatapu College in Palmerston North said on its Facebook page that it received a bomb threat and evacuated the school.

The college said older students were being sent home while Year 9 students were waiting in the gym, which had been cleared by police. They will be allowed to leave after providing a permission text from parents or caregivers.

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The college’s principal, Gary Yeatman, said he believed the threat was made by a person on the other end of the line, though other schools have reported automated messages.

The school had been finishing early anyway due to Covid-19 and staff illness, so students only missed two learning sessions, he said.

He believed the threat was made by a person on the other end of the line, though other schools had reported automated messages.

Minister of Police Chris Hipkins had a message for people ringing in bomb threats to schools: Don’t be idiots.

He said the police and Ministry of Education had plans in place to deal with threats.