A threat written on the tile of a bathroom wall at Lovell Middle School Friday led to a serious response from the Lovell Police Department and a lockdown at Lovell schools while a bomb-detection dog swept the middle school.


    A call came in to the Lovell Dispatch Center at 1:53 p.m. Friday after a student discovered the threatening inscription and alerted a teacher. School Resource Officer Jessica Flood and Police Chief Nick Lewis were at the school moments later, followed by Supt. Dan Coe as students were kept in their classrooms and no one was allowed to enter the school except a few district employees.


    Frannie Police Officer Mike McKee arrived on the scene with a bomb-sniffing K9 unit and began searching the school at 2:30 p.m.


    While the search was being conducted, the nearby elementary and high school went into lock-in mode, where the exterior doors are locked but classes continue normally.


    The search was completed at about 3 p.m. and nothing threatening was found inside the school. Students were then allowed to exit the building at 3:15 and took their usual routes home.


    Chief Lewis then gathered handwriting samples from every student at the middle school for inspection before sending possible matches to a handwriting specialist. Lewis said if the person who wrote the threat is identified, and he is confident they will be, that person would be dealt with appropriately.


    “Chances are great of identifying this person,” Lewis said.


    He said Lovell law enforcement and school employees took the note seriously although it didn’t end up being a serious threat. The Lovell Police Dept. will offer a reward for information about the threat.


    Supt. Coe said if the police investigation is able to determine who wrote the note, that individual would be punished, with options ranging from a short-term suspension of less than 10 days, to an expulsion, which spans an entire school year.


    Law enforcement personnel responded quickly and worked professionally, Coe said, adding the LPD works closely with the schools and helped write the procedures for situations like this one.


“It’s very commendable, the work they do to keep our kids safe,” Coe said.