Fort Gibson Police Arrest Teen Connected To Two Bomb Threats

Friday, September 30th 2016, 6:09 pm

By: Amy Slanchik

Fort Gibson police arrested a 17-year-old student in connection with two bomb threats made to the high school.

The Fort Gibson Police Department said it takes bomb threats very seriously.

The Muskogee County District Attorney's Office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, ATF, and the FBI all helped arrest the teenage suspect.

Police Chief Donnie Yarbrough said it started with a phone call Monday morning.

"The call was 'there's gonna be a bomb in your school, gonna go off in approximately 30 minutes. You have 30 minutes to get them out,’" he said.

After searching the high school's two buildings, and the lower elementary school as a precaution, police gave the "all-clear" in the afternoon.

9/30/2016 Related Story: Police Make Arrest In Fort Gibson School Threats

But, Yarbrough said the same call mentioned a bomb threat for Thursday, so officers stayed on school grounds all night Wednesday and searched the buildings again.

Yarbrough said, "We're not gonna play around with it. It's not a joke and we will not treat it as a joke."

The police chief said the call was somehow connected to Twitter, and IT departments with OHP, ATF and the FBI tracked down a 17-year-old man who police arrested on complaints of conspiracy to use an explosive device and terroristic threatening.

"If you're gonna do something this severe, you're gonna get the severest punishment we can give you," Yarbrough said.

Fort Gibson resident, Marlene Gilkey, said she’s thankful police knew how to respond.

"I bought them a dozen cinnamon rolls and then some mixed cookies. And, just to thank them, because we all appreciate what they've done," she said.

Fort Gibson police said a similar bomb threat was made to Hilldale High School, and that's also part of the investigation.