Eastern Iowa School Closed Wednesday Due To Security Threat

All West Branch schools were closed on Wednesday after student found a threatening message in a campus building at West Branch High School.

Administrators shut down all three schools in the district--West Branch HS, West Branch Middle School & Hoover Elementary--for precautionary reasons after the student reported the menacing message to staff members.

Police believe that the threat was a hoax. Chief Mike Horihan told the West Branch Times that he supported the school's decision and that "everything we're doing is with the safety of young kids in mind." Chief Horihan also said the recent shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, which killed 17 and injured 14, increases the anxiety in this situation.

Classes and other school activities are expected to resume on Thursday. Riceville Schools in Howard County were placed on lockdown last week after a former student sent a similar threat.