Bomb threat in Nipomo update: New Tech High School evacuated, no device found

NIPOMO, Calif. – A bomb threat forced the evacuation of Central Coast New Tech High School for more than two hours on Thursday.

According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, law enforcement was first informed at 10:15 a.m. about a threat made against the school through a text message.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office public information officer Tony Cipolla said a New Tech student received the text message and passed along the warning to school officials.

"Students and staff here at the high school were evacuated to Nipomo High School," said Cipolla. "We also did a search partially into the campus of Nipomo High School just to err on the side of caution."

After the school was evacuated, K-9s and Sheriff deputies conducted a comprehensive search throughout the campus and did not find a device or anything suspicious.

Once the campus was found to be safe, school activities resumed around 1 p.m. The Sheriff's Office kept a presence on campus throughout the remainder of the school day.

Acording to a Lucia Mar Unified School District message sent to New Tech parents, it was determined the threatening text message did not originate from a New Tech student. 

"We are still conducting an investigation into who sent that text, as well as to who made that threat against the high school," said Cipolla.

Central Coast New Tech High School has an enrollment of just under 300 students. The school is located next to Nipomo High School, which was not evacuated as law enforcement conducted its search.

In the statement sent to parents, the Lucia Mar Unified School District said in part, "We are proud of the student who reported the threat. The safety of our students and staff remains a top priority for us. We appreciate the work of the Sheriff’s Department as they continue to investigate this incident.

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