On Wednesday, April 15, MFS received a bomb threat, appearing to be the first occurrence of such an instance in school history. The Moorestown Police Department recommended the school shelter-in-place for approximately one hour, followed by a delayed dismissal after a campus sweep by Moorestown police and K-9 units.

According to Moorestown Mayor Quinton Law, the bomb threat was part of a “chain of robocall threats” similar in nature to messages received recently at several surrounding schools in Burlington County. Over 18 schools in the county received a similar threat, according to Law. This included Moorestown Upper Elementary School, which received a bomb threat on Monday. 

Following the initial investigations, the threat was deemed not credible by the police, but an ongoing investigation to find the caller is still underway, according to the Moorestown Police Department.

“I was told that [the police] have leads,” said Law.

According to Head of School Julia de la Torre, this is the first bomb threat ever received by MFS.

Neither de la Torre nor former Head of School Larry Van Meter has experienced a bomb threat during their time at MFS, which spans over 25 years, according to de La Torre.

“I can’t guarantee the school hasn’t had one in the past, but definitely not in recent memory,” de la Torre said.

During the lockdown, the police officers quickly restricted access to the school. At 2:55 PM, the school sent communication via email and phone call to parents and guardians about the bomb threat. De la Torre instructed teachers via intercom to “check their email,” as they were still teaching their final period of the day.

Police officers and K-9 units from the Moorestown Police Department and the Burlington County Sheriff’s Office swept the perimeter of the school, walking through the hallways to search for explosives, according to Law. 

“Our number one responsibility is to keep Moorestownians safe,” said Law.

According to a statement posted by the Moorestown Police Department, the decision to initiate a shelter-in-place was based on several factors, “including the nature and perceived credibility of the threat.” 

However, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the protocol of bomb threats, causing confusion among the student body and faculty.

E’lon Rodwell-Simon ’28 said, “The announcement was something we’ve never heard [before], so I was very confused and stressed about it.”

“My teacher asked what a ‘shelter-in-place’ meant, and we said it was probably an indoor drill,” said Nolan Youssef ’28.

Rodwell-Simon added, “We should know what a shelter-in-place is.” 

According to de la Torre, a true shelter-in-place event consists of relocating to a large gathering spot inside the school. At the time of publication, de la Torre did not confirm whether or not MFS had practiced a shelter-in-place drill. However, MFS has practiced a lockdown drill four times this year, which is similar to the police recommendation.

According to the handbook under “Emergency Procedures,” MFS is required to practice the bomb threat drill in addition to alternate drills such as lockdown and shelter-in-place, in accordance with NJ law.

“If there genuinely was a threat, I’m pretty sure we would’ve done the whole drill when we walked to the woods,” said Yuri Wallace ’28. According to the statement posted by the Moorestown Police Department, schools may initiate a lockdown, which can include sheltering in place or evacuating to a predesignated location. 

Some students were given mixed instructions. One of the email updates alerted teachers not to use their phones, so some students were discouraged from using phones in class, while other classes were not alerted about this order. 

Aryanna Dalal ’28 explained the “unseriousness” of the situation. “A lot of people were looking outside the window and were asking if we could jump out. Some were making TikToks.” According to Dalal, some teachers were encouraging the joking behavior. 

According to Director of Wellness and Student Support Susan Batastini, no one reached out to the Health & Wellness Team for support as of Thursday. 

Teachers handled the situation in different ways.

“Faculty didn’t mention what happened. I wish I knew because [not knowing] is a safety concern,” said Zahra Mammadova ’28.

“I get more panicked when I don’t know what’s going on. My brain immediately went to ‘active shooter mode’ instead of a fake bomb threat, so I don’t understand why that wasn’t communicated to us immediately,” said Chloe Marshall ’26.

In one class, a teacher initially believed that there was an active shooter and told students to get down on the floor, according to Youssef. 

Wallace said, “I was mad that someone would be so bored and have so much time on their hands to fake a bomb threat and inconvenience everyone in the building and their families.” All after-school activities, including sports practices and games, were canceled.

Since Middle School students are required to leave their phones in their lockers, many Middle School students shared feelings of concern about not being able to contact their parents. Gabriella Fennell ’31 detailed her experience.

“In the moment, I was very anxious … I did want to talk to my mom, and we weren’t allowed to do that. My parents did try to contact me, but my teacher said it wasn’t allowed … but they said they could send emails to our parents if [we] were super anxious. I didn’t do that because I saw my mom’s car outside Hartman [and] I knew my mom was nearby, so I did feel better about that.” 

She continued, “I did feel safe with my teacher after we started to play games. She talked to us and read the emails to us. I think that made us feel better and not restricted about what we don’t know.”

“I was kind of confused … I was scared of what was happening, and didn’t know what we were going to do next,” Connor Van Name ’30 said. “Most of the people, as far as I could tell, didn’t care all too much. We played games, and some people played chess.” 

In the Lower School with young children as young as five years old, the shelter-in-place was “smooth,” according to Lower School Director Jenel Giles. 

Giles added, “The faculty did an amazing job. Everyone is amazing at working with young children and knowing how best to support them, and making sure they’re comfortable in times of emergency.”

Giles spoke about the protocol of handling emergencies in Lower School, saying, “Teachers made sure that kids knew exactly what they needed to do and were comfortable in the classroom.”

“Typically, we don’t give out a lot of details [about] what’s actually going on,” Giles continued. 

According to Giles, “Everyone did what they’re supposed to do in terms of procedures … We practice all the time; we train on the drills during [Personal Development] days and before school starts. There are plans and procedures for these types of things, and we were well prepared for that.”

She concluded, “We’ve gotten a lot of parents who said ‘thank you’ and for the care of things for the kids.”

Administrators are reviewing the event and have met to discuss next steps to ensure the school’s safety 

According to Law, almost 20% of the newly developed Moorestown budget is going to public safety to address similar incidents. 

On the same day, unrelated to the bomb threat, there was an evacuation during the Upper School Meeting for Worship. This was caused by water pressure issues in the Dining Hall Commons from complications of water main constructions on Main Street, according to Middle School Dean of Students Max Bogeart. The alarm went off before the beginning of Meeting for Worship for Business, and the Moorestown Fire Department quickly assessed the situation. 

Meeting for Worship for Business has been rescheduled for next week.