Police investigate bomb threat at Washougal High School

Students, staff and faculty evacuated Washougal High School on Tuesday morning while police investigated a bomb threat that turned out to be a false alarm.

Rene Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Washougal School District, said the threat came in a handwritten note found on campus Tuesday morning, and it was directed only at the high school.

The Washougal Police Department and a Clark County bomb squad briefly shut down the school for a thorough search, but investigators found no explosive devices in any of the rooms.

Classes resumed shortly after 11 a.m., about an hour after the evacuation. Earlier in the morning, administrators notified all parents in the district about the situation using an automated emergency call system.

After-school activities were set to proceed on schedule after police cleared the campus, the district announced in a press release sent out after the incident.

Superintendent Dawn Tarzian said investigators are continuing to look for who was responsible for the note.

“We take every threat with the utmost seriousness, and will always thoroughly search the building, regardless of any credible evidence,” Tarzian said. “I’m very disappointed that this occurred in the first place, and the school will investigate the source of the threat because of the fear and anxiety it causes students, parents and staff, as well as the disruption to the learning environment.”