The V.I. Police Department has taken six minors from Charlotte Amalie High School and Lockhart K-8 into protective custody as part of a widening investigation into repeated bomb threats that have disrupted multiple schools on St. Thomas. Working with federal partners and the Department of Education, police say additional arrests are expected as detectives continue tracking others believed to be involved.
According to the VIPD, officers are operating “in close collaboration with the V.I. Department of Education and our federal partners” in response to a series of threats that have “caused significant disruptions to learning environments and unnecessary alarms within the community.” The most recent incidents occurred Tuesday, when 911 dispatchers received new reports of bomb threats directed at Lockhart K-8 School. Previous threats have targeted CAHS, Ivanna Eudora Kean, and other campuses.
Investigators have identified several persons of interest and are conducting interviews. The department stressed that “once identified and apprehended, the individuals responsible will be fully prosecuted.” The six juveniles currently in custody face a range of offenses, including first- and third-degree false reporting, cyber harassment, bomb hoax, disturbance of the peace/threat, and conspiracy.
VIPD officials noted that bomb-threat investigations are not new to the district. On April 2, 2023, the Seventh-day Adventist School reported “a violent threat made against teachers and students,” leading to a Juvenile Bureau investigation that identified the minor who placed the call. Another incident occurred on May 2, 2023, when Addelita Cancryn Junior High School—now Lockhart K-8—received a bomb threat. A joint response by the Juvenile Bureau and School Security Bureau resulted in three students being taken into protective custody and charged with first- and third-degree false reporting, cyber harassment, disturbance of the peace, and bomb hoax. They were remanded to the Youth Rehabilitation Center on St. Croix.
In a formal statement, VIPD Commissioner Mario Brooks noted how seriously the department views the most recent wave of threats. “The Virgin Islands Police Department is delivering a clear and concise message today: the recent rash of bomb threats targeting schools in the territory particularly in the St. Thomas and St. John District is unacceptable,” he told the Consortium. “These reckless calls do not only disrupt our educational system; they divert vital emergency resources, create unnecessary panic, strain government operations, and leave other critical areas vulnerable.”
He warned that the community must stop treating the calls as harmless stunts. “Let me be perfectly clear: this behavior is not a prank. It is a crime,” Brooks said. “Make no mistake, as demonstrated today, we will find you, and we will bring you to justice.”
Commissioner Brooks also addressed parents and guardians directly. “If you are not, I advise you to get involved in your children’s lives. Check those cellphones daily because when we show up knocking on your door for your child, saying I did not know is not an excuse,” he said. “As a parent they are your responsibility and obstruction of justice will only give you an adjoining seat next to your child in court.”
The department urged families and the broader community to speak to young people about “the severe consequences associated with making false threats,” noting that such actions “drain emergency resources, interrupt critical public services, and create widespread fear.” VIPD reiterated that it “remains committed to transparency, public safety, and the well-being of students and school personnel as this investigation progresses.”
Brooks also warned that repeated false threats risk degrading the emergency response system. “Every time they do it, they’re forcing us to expand valuable resources that the government is very strapped for.”
British Caribbean News
