On Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at approximately 8:18am, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police received a 911 call in reference to a bomb threat at William A. Hough High School in Cornelius. The school was evacuated and the Cornelius Police Department, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue and Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Officials searched the building.

There was no device found during the search. Students, faculty and staff were returned to the school at 9:40am.

Around 12:15 PM, an officer at the school was notified that a suspicious package was in a bathroom. Officers responded and found a package in a lavatory in an area that had been previously searched and cleared. The package was placed in an obvious manner and made to look suspicious. Another evacuation was ordered and bomb technicians were called. The package was found to be safe.

The Cornelius Police Department will continue this investigation to determine who perpetrated this hoax. This type of crime is very disruptive to the schools and very costly to investigate. Cornelius Police requests assistance from the public to help identify the suspects in this case. If you or your students have or hear of any information that could, in any way, be helpful in identifying the suspect(s) in this hoax, please contact us immediately.

Anyone with information is asked to call Cornelius Police Detectives at 704-892-7773. You can remain anonymous.