No explosive device was found in a search of Fulton Middle School Tuesday afternoon after students were evacuated due to bomb threat.
According to Superintendent Jacque Cowherd, a threat was found written on a wall in one of the boys' bathrooms just before 1:15 p.m., indicating there was a bomb in the school and it would go off after school hours.
Students were moved first to the gym and then were evacuated to the pole barn. First responders with the Fulton police and fire departments responded and conducted a search of the premises.
"We had people go through the classrooms - we walked through every room, opening drawers, searching," Cowherd said.
When nothing was found, students were brought back into the school at approximately 2:30 p.m. and were allowed back into the classrooms. Middle school parents were told about the incident later through the school's notification system.
Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers said officers are working to determine if the incident has any connection to a similar incident that resulted in evacuation of the vocational agriculture department at Fulton High School on Feb. 5.
Myers said the threat had been on the wall for an indeterminate length of time. According to Cowherd, a cursory review with faculty teaching in nearby classrooms and janitorial staff indicated the message was not there two hours prior to it being reported.
"Staff is investigating," Cowherd said. "We have some suspects based on camera footage and students who were in the hallway around that time."
He praised middle school staff for keeping the students calm throughout the incident. Cowherd said school will resume classes as normal Wednesday.