A bomb threat made at Fulton Middle School on Thursday proved baseless, Major Roger Rice of the Fulton Police Department said.
At about 9 a.m. Thursday, an FMS student announced to a classroom that there was a bomb in the classroom's library. The student, a minor, was not named by police.
School administration was immediately notified and called the police, Rice said. Students, faculty and staff evacuated the building. The Callaway County Sheriff's Office, Callaway County Ambulance District and Fulton Fire Department responded to the scene, along with the FPD.
"It was quickly determined that the student made the statement as a 'joke,'" Rice said.
The student was taken into custody on one charge of making a terrorist threat and turned over to juvenile authorities.
"The school personnel should be commended for doing an exceptional job of moving the students out of the building in an orderly fashion," Rice added. "No one was in any danger at any time."
Fulton Public Schools Superintendent Jacque Cowherd expressed relief that the threat was false.
"I was very pleased with the reaction of the middle school's administration and students in being able to clear the building in a calm fashion," he said.
Cowherd said administrators frequently review and tweak emergency procedures to update things like phone numbers.
At the middle school, Principal Beth Houf and Rice were able to turn the incident into a learning moment for students.
"(They) talked to all the students about the seriousness of making threats," Cowherd said.