The Plainsman Press - South Plains College

by Chelsea Baham, staff writer

It seems as though the question of safety on school campuses across the nation is a constant issue in today’s society. However, no one ever expects for something tragic to hit close to home.

On the morning of, March 11, South Plains College got a scary wake-up call. A bomb threat was first called into the Levelland Police Department at 9:06 a.m. A second call followed at 9:35a.m. According to Dane Dewbre, associate dean of college relations, the threat specifically targeted three buildings, the Administration Building, Technical Arts Center, and Science Building.

Students, faculty, and staff in those areas were evacuated around 9:40 a.m. When asked about the situation, Nikki Nelson, a second-semester student at SPC, responded, “We were in class taking a test when our teacher told us to get out of the building fast. When we got outside, someone made an announcement that classes were closed until further notice because of a bomb threat.”

Lubbock County Bomb Squad members responded quickly, taking the threats very seriously. After everyone evacuated the three buildings, police officials searched each with bomb sniffing K-9 dogs until all were cleared.

Classes were cancelled in the buildings specified in the threat. Re-entry was not allowed college administration received notification from law enforcement officials. The buildings immediately next to the targeted buildings were also closed down during the searching. Signs were posted on doors to inform students. Police cars were set in place to barricade the streets along side of the buildings to keep other cars from driving too close.

When asked about the safety of students in buildings other than those that had been locked, Dewbre responded that at that time, he “did not feel the need to evacuate the entire campus until further notified by police officials.”

David Jones, vice president of student services at SPC, also responded that “because only the three buildings were mentioned, we felt that it was more important to evacuate those buildings only. However, as we saw, a scare like this tends to cause the whole campus to shut down for the day.”

SPC promptly posted information about the situation on the school’s main webpage, later adding more detailed and timed updates on MySPC. The first posting was at 10:04 a.m. by Dr. Kelvin Sharp, president of South Plains College. The first posting urged everyone to keep updated by watching the website to see when the buildings were cleared and to assure students and faculty that no other facilities were involved.

At 11:43 a.m., a second post notified employees to report back to work “per their supervisors’ instructions.” This post also reported that the Administration Building and the Student Services Building had been cleared. The Science Building was cleared in the 12:29 p.m. post, which also informed faculty and staff that their offices would be open again at 1 p.m.

The fourth and final posting came at 1:54 p.m. reporting that all facilities had been cleared by the bomb squad and classes would resume as scheduled on March 12.

The college had already planned a test run for a new emergency notification system, which was conducted on March 28. This system includes notifications through text messaging, phone calls, and E-mail alerts.

During the time of searching on campus, there had also been rumors of a similar bomb threat at the Hockley County Courthouse in Levelland. This was confirmed by the Levelland Police Department. While the Courthouse and college were cleared without suspicion of an actual bomb, the two calls were believed to be related.

According to the Levelland PD, the first call that came into the 9-1-1 dispatcher came from the Allsup’s convenience store in Levelland to report a bomb on SPC’s campus. The second call around thirty minutes later came from a local Wal-Mart reporting a bomb in the courthouse. Both calls were anonymous.

As of March 27, there is a female suspect. However, no arrests had been made at that time. The evidence being reviewed included the 9-1-1 recording, an eyewitness report at Allsup’s, and a video image from a Wal-Mart security camera.

Officials felt that the eyewitness report was relatively accurate. A clear image from the Wal-Mart security camera was trying to be obtained in order to construct a reward flyer. Each 9-1-1 recording seemed to be from the same person, with the first call reported to be lengthier than the second.

“The investigation is still very active in our police department, as well as the city police department,” Jones said. He went on to say, “This type of hoax not only disrupted everyone’s day, but it put so many students and faculty at risk, emotionally and physically. There will be a stiff penalty for this person. We owe this to our students.”

The Levelland Crime Line, along with SPC, is offering a combined reward of $2,000 that leads to the arrest and conviction of the offender. Students are urged to offer up any information that can aid to finding the suspect.

Jones requested that students immediately contact Levelland Crime Line, SPC police department, or any faculty the student would feel comfortable sharing information with.

This type of crime is a third-degree felony classified as a terrostic threat. The maximum punishment for this criminal offense is two to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. This incident is being taken very seriously by local police, as well as officials at South Plains College, and is guaranteed not to go unpunished, according to Jones.

This is the first threat of this kind at South Plains College in the past 50 years. Jones said that he felt that the situation was handled well.

If you have any information that can lead to the arrest of the offender, please contact Levelland Crime Line at 894-5500, or the campus police at SPC at 894-9611, ext. 2210, or 894-6164.

*All photos by Chelsea Baham/Plainsman Press