Caller threatens to bomb high school if track coach isn’t fired, Illinois officials say
A school in southern Illinois was evacuated after a caller threatened to “blow up” the building if a track coach wasn’t fired, officials say.
Marion High School released students early Wednesday as a “precautionary measure” due to the bomb threat originating from a caller in New York.
The police and fire departments and the Illinois Secretary of State bomb squad swept the school to ensure the building was safe.
Protesters in the community have demanded the school district fire the high school girls track coach, who is on paid leave during an investigation.
“Please understand that the district is in the process of determining appropriate action,” the school district said in a statement. “Discipline or termination can not be considered until we have a complete understanding of what occurred.”
The family of a Black student accused the white coach of making a racist remark toward the girl in front of her teammates, The Southern Illinoisan reported.
“I was embarrassed. She said that in front of my whole team,” the 15-year-old girl told the newspaper.
The school has not released detailed information about the incident, citing student and personnel confidentiality.
“As we are working diligently to investigate the allegations against the girls track coach and to bring a resolution to this matter, threats to the school only serve to delay our ability to continue the investigation and cause disruption of our students’ education,” the district said.
Asia Gossett, the student’s sister, told WSIL the family has met with officials from the city and school.
“We want to do things the peaceful way,” Gossett told the news outlet. “I feel that’s the only way right now that we can get the answers that we actually want, and the results that we actually want from this situation.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Caller threatens to bomb high school if track coach isn’t fired, Illinois officials say."