FBI Joins Investigation into Series of Threats at Coatesville Area School District

Police in Chester County say the FBI is joining their investigation into a series of threats made at the Coatesville Area School District after classes were disrupted for students for the second time in as many weeks.

Caln Township police said students and staff had to be evacuated from Coatesville Area Senior High School on Monday after there was a threat of a possible incendiary device being ignited during the school day.

A second threat then warned of weapons on campus, which led to the Intermediate High School being placed on lockdown, police said.

About 1,400 high school students and 120 staff members were relocated to the football stadium. After about an hour, a series of fights broke out between different groups of students, according to police. Pennsylvania State Police and 37 local police departments responded to the county-wide request for assistance.

Several students were detained and released, authorities said. No serious injuries were reported.

“Additionally, multiple disturbances involving parents were reported on Veterans Drive, because they were denied access to the campus,” Caln Township police said in a release.

Several agencies conducted a search inside the high school with accelerant-detecting K9s. Police said students left all backpacks and bookbags behind during the sweep, and no accelerants were detected.

Students were dismissed and not permitted to return to the building, the school district said.

The district cancelled classes at both the high school and middle school for Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Caln Township police said the investigation is ongoing and criminal charges are pending.

In a letter to parents and staff, the district's interim superintendent Dr. Richard Dunlap wrote in part, “We continue to be extremely frustrated with these disruptions and are talking with multiple authorities about how best to continue to address them."