Bomb Threat at Chestnut Ridge Middle School

Yisroel R.

A bomb threat at Chestnut Ridge Middle School this afternoon led to the evacuation of the entire school and a major emergency response as police searched the building for possible explosives.

The incident began at approximately 1:11 p.m., when a male caller contacted the school claiming that multiple bombs had been placed throughout the building. The school principal immediately took action and notified the Ramapo Police Department, and the school was placed on total lockdown as authorities responded.

Students were immediately evacuated from the building, and were loaded onto buses under heavy police security to transport them to another location.

A large police presence remained at the school as explosive-detection K9 teams began searching the building. Ramapo Police deployed K9 Blue and K9 Ryder, while additional agencies with explosive-detection dogs were called in to assist with the extensive search. State Police, Rockland Sheriff responded to the scene as well, with Monsey Fire Department, South Spring Valley Fire Department, and Faist EMS on stand by.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and FBI Safe Streets Task Force were also notified and joined the investigation.

Speaking to the media at the scene, Ramapo Police Chief Danny Hyman said authorities had no credible information indicating that bombs had actually been placed inside the school, with the threat originating from a single anonymous phone call.

“We do not have any credible information that there’s been any bombs placed inside this school. Despite that, police are treating the threat as real and conducting a full search of the building before determining that it is safe.”

The investigation into the bomb threat and the caller remains ongoing. Rockland Daily will provide updates as they become available.