An ordinary school day turned into pure terror early yesterday morning as thousands of pupils across the country were evacuated following multiple e-mailed bomb threats.
AT THE PARK: Teachers and pupils from St James Secondary School gather at Anthony Williams Park,
St James, after their school received bomb threats yesterday.
In a media release hours after the cyberattack on schools, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who is also chairman of the National Security Council, noted that parents and children were “terrorised” and the education system disrupted as he condemned the actions of the “misguided terrorist miscreants”.
MUSTER POINT: Principal of Queen’s Royal College (QRC) David Simon, centre, speaks with pupils as they gathered at their muster point in the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, following a bomb scare at their school yesterday. —Photo: JERMAINE CRUICKSHANK
Around 8 a.m. yesterday, over 55 schools in Trinidad and all nine in Tobago were placed on high alert and evacuated after an e-mailed threat was sent to the schools’ administrators.
The nameless, faceless perpetrator(s) e-mailed a cryptic message threatening to detonate explosives and cause a spillage of blood in the country.
No explosives were found and no one was harmed.
ON THE SCENE: Police officers arrive at Anthony Williams Park, St James, where pupils and teachers from St James Secondary School had gathered after their school received bomb threats yesterday.
Teams of police officers, bomb experts and fire officers were deployed to schools in both Trinidad and Tobago to check for explosives.
There was swift and immediate action by the authorities to evacuate pupils to muster points, traffic was halted and roads blocked off while checks were done.
There were viral videos of hundreds of pupils waiting outside of schools while police conducted searches.
CLASSES DISRUPTED: Pupils and teachers of Trinity Junior Anglican Private School gather in Victoria Square in Port of Spain after their school received a bomb threat yesterday. —Photos: JERMAINE CRUICKSHANK
It was impossible for bomb experts to check every school, so as result, a number of schools were dismissed early and panicked parents rushed to pick up their children.
In his release, the Prime Minister said that this “evil action of organised bomb threats” only serves to demonstrate how vulnerable we all are to the wiles of those who would harm us.
TOBAGO AFFECTED TOO: Classes were also dismissed at the Signal Hill Secondary School in Tobago yesterday.
He added that while citizens were forced to grapple with many challenges, some beyond our control, it is wholly reprehensible that any person could see it fit to attack and traumatise children in this or any similar way.
“I condemn, in the strongest terms, these actions which are clearly meant to disrupt the country even as others set out to destabilise the society,” Rowley said.
He assured that the security agencies are fully engaged and will make every effort to locate the “misguided terrorist miscreants”.
Said Rowley, “Given that criminal conduct is fashionable for some of our citizens and others, I once again appeal to all citizens to assist the police if you think you have useful information which may be helpful in the furtherance of the national effort to control and eliminate criminal behaviour which so disrupts and damages our nation.”
Multiple charges
According to senior counsel, the perpetrators who sent terror threats to schools across T&T can be slapped with multiple charges, including terrorism, sedition, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit a criminal act.
Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj told the Express that the crime committed is a serious one, especially as it relates to targeting the nation’s children. He said charges can also be laid under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Senior Counsel Pamela Elder said what immediately came to her mind was an offence under the Sedition Act. She said there was publication—the threat sent via e-mail— and the target was to inflict grievous harm on children.
Ministers respond
Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds also condemned the criminal actions, and spoke on the matter both inside and outside of Parliament.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Curt Simon said the matter is of “high priority” for the police, and divisional commanders were on alert and investigating.
Official confirmation of the threats came from the Education Ministry just after 11 a.m., and the public as advised that all necessary actions were taken to ensure pupils’ safety.
The ministry also said that the police were investigating the accosting of the school safety officer at the Belmont Secondary School by adult males yesterday morning. It said that staff of the Student Support Services Division are on hand at all schools to render support to all staff and pupils when required.
What the e-mail threat stated
“Explosives are planted on the territory of the building
We’ve always dreamed of revenge
We’ve always been an empty place
We will take revenge on you all
After the explosion
We will come to you
With weapon
We will kill everyone
No one will be left alive
Trinidad will bleed
We’ll corner you in your house
In the next world, only boiling awaits you
Soon, very soon, a sea of blood will be spilled.”
