West Des Moines police responded to Dowling Catholic High School on Monday, May 4, after an employee reported receiving a threatening voicemail.
The West Des Moines school reported the voicemail to the West Des Moines Police Department shortly before 8 a.m., said West Des Moines Police Public Information Officer Dan Wade. He said the report triggered a police response of five or six squad cars to the scene. Classes at the school begin at 8:15 a.m., according to its handbook.
Dowling Catholic initiated a secure hold, during which classes continued, but students were not permitted to leave the building, according to KCCI.
Wade said officers determined there was no ongoing violence at the school or in the surrounding neighborhood. He said there is no active threat as the department works with school officials to investigate the voicemail.
Dowling Catholic officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
This is the second threat reported at a Des Moines metro high school in less than a week, after a bomb threat at North High School on April 29. Students and staff were evacuated, but the threat was later deemed not credible.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dowling is second high school to receive false threat in last week
Reporting by Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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