On March 15, shortly after 10 a.m., LB’s main office received a phone call that would lead shortly to a school-wide evacuation.

The call, which threatened LB with a bomb, was not the only one made to schools around that time.

Bomb threats were reported in seven other Northern Virginia schools on March 4. High schools in Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington and Falls Church all received calls that turned out to be false alarms.

Many had been so-called “robocalls,” featuring an automated voice.

While there may be some similarities between the incidents at those schools and the March 15 event at LB, no clear connection has been made.

The call to LB’s main office was not a “robocall” or an automated voice speaking over the phone.

There is an active police investigation trying to identify the caller and the origin of the call.

Police suspect that the call may have originated from inside the school, but this is still uncertain.

After receiving the call, office staff immediately informed principal Dave Thomas of the threat, who then decided it was best to evacuate the school, which was done so through the monthly fire drill.

“It wasn’t clear if it was just a hoax, or something much more serious,” Ralph Gardner, the head of security, said.
Evacuating the school allowed staff to conduct the monthly fire drill. “This allowed for the police, school security and staff to conduct a quick search of the building,” Gardner said.

“I could tell that something serious was going on,” seventh grader Rhiannon Staley said.

“Not only was there a fire drill in the middle of my lunch, but once I went outside, there was a helicopter flying above us in circles. I was confused on what was going on.”

There were many rumors about the origin of the bomb threat that immediately started to go around.

“I thought that it was someone trying to get out of taking a test,” seventh grader Jahnavi Dave said. Others wondered if this was a plot to exchange drugs.

Some thought that the evacuation of the drill was a waste of time, since the administrative staff later said that they believed the threat was not credible. However, others disagree with this.

“It’s always best to put safety above other needs. It’s always better to err on the side on caution.”

This isn’t the first time Lake Braddock has experienced a bomb threat. Last year around this time, on March 23, a bomb threat was sent to the school, via email. This resulted in a closing of the school for that day.