Lenox — Lenox Memorial Middle and High School (LMMHS) was closed today after a “serious threat” left on school voicemail this morning (April 2) forced an evacuation of students at around 9:15 a.m. from the East Street campus. An investigation by the Lenox Police Department and the State Police is underway.
A parent whose brother’s children attend the school described the threat as a “bomb scare,” but no official communications from the school indicated whether the threat involved an explosive device. Parents were notified immediately by email that children were to be picked up or ride school buses to their usual bus stop. The school website said the “threatening message” prompted school officials to take action “in the interest of student safety.”
The incident forced students in their classes to drop what they were doing, leave all their belongings in place and move to the Duffin Theater auditorium, from where they were escorted out of the building and picked up by parents or buses.
The school website says that school will be open tomorrow, Friday, April 3rd from 8 a.m. to noon, for parents and students to claim personal belongings. The message says to please check in at the main office in order to claim items.
All LMMHS sports practices held at the school are canceled for Thursday, April 2nd and Friday April 3rd.
At around 10:30 a.m. the school parking lot was peppered with a few cars; some staff still remained in the building, which was locked. State and Lenox Police cruisers, as well as special trucks, were parked outside the entrance. A group of staff could be seen huddling inside, when a State Police officer opened the door to say that he could not answer questions, but that Lenox Chief of Police Stephen O’Brien would later today send out a dispatch.
A woman and her two daughters, who did not wish to be identified, sat in their car waiting to see if they could go inside and retrieve the children’s things, since they were planning to leave town in the next few days. One of the girls said that her class had just been given their MCAS tests, but had not yet opened them when they were told school was dismissed and to move to the Duffin Theater. Grades 7 and 10 were scheduled to take the MCAS tests today.
Four staff members who left the building at around 10:45 a.m. said they were “not allowed to talk to reporters.”
