Bomb threats force evacuations at five Anchorage schools, none found credible

The Anchorage School District evacuated students from four campuses, Airport Heights Elementary, West High School, Romig Middle School and Rilke Schule German Immersion School, after what the district called "several simultaneous threats" came in around 1:22 p.m. Oct. 21. A fifth school, Bartlett High School, was also named in the threats, according to the district. No students or staff were hurt.

Anchorage police said the threats arrived as multiple phone calls alleging bombs at three of the schools. Officers searched the campuses and found no explosives. Police described the threats as "unfounded" and said they are still investigating where the calls came from.

For families, the immediate concern was logistical as much as it was about safety: where to pick up a kid, how long the wait would be, and whether school would resume that day. The district said evacuated students were moved to designated locations with teachers and staff while officials worked out reunification, dismissal and transportation plans, and promised updates as those details firmed up.

ASD Deputy Superintendent Madeline Aguillard acknowledged the disruption in a statement. "We understand that incidents like this are concerning for students, families, and staff," she said, adding that "the safety and well-being of our school communities remain our highest priority" and that the district was "working closely with law enforcement."

The five schools named span several Anchorage neighborhoods, from the Airport Heights area near Merrill Field to the West High campus downtown and Romig Middle School in the Turnagain area, meaning the disruption touched families across a wide swath of the municipality, which the state's community database puts at roughly 289,000 residents. An initial account from an ASD spokesperson had suggested Rilke Schule was not among the evacuated buildings; the district later clarified that it was.

Bomb threats against schools that turn out to be unfounded are disruptive even when no one is hurt. Classes lose instructional time, buses and pickup schedules get thrown off, and parents are left waiting for word on when and where to collect their kids, a scramble that falls hardest on working families who can't easily leave a job midafternoon. Police have not said whether they believe the calls are connected to each other or to any individual, and no arrests had been announced as of Wednesday evening.

Anchorage police said the investigation into the source of the calls continues, and the district has not yet said whether classes at the affected schools will proceed on a normal schedule going forward or whether additional security measures are planned.