Bomb prop for project prompted Berkeley High evacuation

Berkeley High School was evacuated following reports of a suspicious device in a school bathroom Tuesday afternoon, according to community reports.

The Scanner received a report about the suspicious device, including photographs, at about 1:15 p.m. and immediately requested information from the Berkeley Police Department.

There had been no response as of publication time at nearly 2:30 p.m.

Scroll down for updates to the story.

Multiple parents began alerting The Scanner shortly after 2 p.m. that students had been evacuated from the high school and sent out onto the field.

Parents and a school employee said BPD's bomb squad had been dispatched to investigate.

The Scanner also asked Berkeley Unified for any information but BUSD did not respond.

Parents said they were hearing from their children but had not heard anything from school officials as of about 2:20 p.m.

The photographs sent to The Scanner appeared to show several cardboard rolls tied together with batteries and a timer.

The Scanner will update this story as soon as officials provide information.

Update, 2:50 p.m. Berkeley High parents received the following message just minutes ago. It appears below in full.

Dear BHS Community,

We are sending this message to let you know that we evacuated BHS this afternoon due to a suspicious device. All students and staff are safe.

After we were made aware of the suspicious device located in one of the bathrooms, BHS administrators followed the safety plan to contact BPD.

Police immediately arrived on campus and determined that the buildings should be evacuated out of an abundance of caution.  They called in the bomb unit to more thoroughly assess the situation. While the students are evacuated, BPD officers are investigating the device.  

At this point we are focusing on taking care of our students and staff, and managing the situation as it unfolds. We are working closely with BPD and will provide an update as more information becomes available.  

To reiterate, students are safe in the designated evacuation area. We expect to follow the normal release time and protocols and ask that families not come to the school to pick up their students prior to release time.

We appreciate everyone’s cooperation.

Juan Raygoza

Update, 2:55 p.m. The Berkeley Police Department said officers from its explosives disposal team remain at Berkeley High and plan to assess the suspicious device.

After the item was reported, officers helped school staff evacuate the building, sending students onto the football field as per school safety protocols.

Police plan to search school grounds once officers have determined that the device is safe, said Officer Byron White, a BPD spokesman.

Update, 3 p.m. Many parents have expressed frustration that it took so long for school officials to send a notice about the investigation.

A Scanner reader said his son texted to say that a photo of the suspicious item, which had been "sitting in the bathroom all day," had been circulating among students.

Update, 3:12 p.m. Berkeley police have confirmed that the suspicious device at Berkeley High was "a fake."

BPD said the investigation began at about 1 p.m. when Berkeley High notified the school resource officer "about a suspicious item inside a bathroom that had wires and paper towel tubes."

"All students and staff are safe," BPD said just after 3:10 p.m. "Out of an abundance of caution, Berkeley High School officials evacuated the school while members of the Berkeley PD Explosive Ordinance Detection Team investigated the suspicious item. After checking the suspicious item, our EOD determined that the suspicious item was not real." 

Officers are now searching the Berkeley High School campus "for any other suspicious items."

Berkeley Unified has not responded to multiple inquiries.

Update, 3:35 p.m. BUSD said it was able to determine that the "suspicious device" was a prop for a class project.

In a statement at 3:28 p.m., BUSD spokeswoman Trish McDermott said school administrators had immediately contacted police after finding the device and that police "determined all school buildings should be evacuated out of an abundance of caution."

"All students and staff are safe and we appreciate their cooperation throughout this incident," she wrote. "Parents have been notified and asked to follow normal school pickup protocols."

Update, 4:25 p.m. School staff told The Scanner they too were frustrated because the district did not communicate directly with them during the incident.

"The first and only communication that staff received was at 3:43 pm from the Superintendent," one teacher said. "We evacuated at 2:10pm."