A spokesperson from the Department of Education confirmed that a bomb threat was made to M.S. 74 on Oceania Street in Bayside, prompting the evacuation of the Nathanial Hawthorne Middle School on Friday, October 1.
Students told The Queens Courier that they had just gotten to school when the building was evacuated.
After a search by local police, however, no threat was found. According to a mother of one of the students, the school initially told pupils that the evacuation was due to inclement weather causing flooding.
“I guess they didn’t want to scare the kids,” said Michelle Miller, whose daughter attends M.S. 74. “I think the principal did the right thing.”
Police say the prank phone call was made from a payphone in Brooklyn.
Students were being allowed back in the building by approximately 11 a.m. Friday. Principals at M.S. 74 had no comment.
