Police: Recorded message causes statewide school evacuations

A recorded message sent out to several schools in Colorado on Monday caused a mass evacuation.

According to Sgt. Kern with the Colorado Springs Police Department, he believes several schools across the state may have received the same recorded message stating a possible threat.

Several law enforcement agencies began sending out statements at around 1 p.m. alerting the public about possible bomb threats happening at schools around the state.

“I drove past the school and saw the cops and was curious about what was going on,” said Carly Stevens, a parent of a student at the school. “My heart was in my stomach considering my kids were in the elementary school and middle school. Then I realized it was going on in the Springs and everywhere else. It calmed me down a little bit, but still.”

At 1:10 p.m., the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office tweeted out that there was a bomb threat at Pueblo Liberty Point Elementary in Pueblo West.

Just before 2 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office confirmed nothing was found at the school with the following tweet:

“Again nothing found at Liberty Point. Parents should go to PW High to pick up students.”

The Colorado Springs School located at 21 Broadmoor Avenue and Cherokee Trail Elementary School in Parker were also evacuated on Monday afternoon.

Similar threats were made in schools in Delaware, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Wisconsin and in the United Kingdom. The threats were described as robotic. If they were robocalls they may be difficult to track.

“There are apps out there that the average person can download an app, a prerecorded message and they can input any numbers in there,” said El Paso County Spokeswoman Jacqueline Kirby. “The technology that exists today makes it difficult to track down.”

Media outlets across the United States, from New England to Wisconsin and California, as well as in the United Kingdom are reporting school evacuations because of threats.

A spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Emergency Management, Micki Trost, says the threats made Monday appear to be related to the ones made at schools across the country.

Stay with KRDO for updates.