Police launched an investigation after at least a dozen schools in Masterton, Kaikōura, Greymouth, Queenstown, Levin, Whanganui, Rolleston, Takaka, Geraldine, Alexandra, Ashburton and Palmerston North were targeted today.
It was the second time this week that serious threats have been directed against schools.
A similar series of bomb hoaxes disrupted schools on the North Island on Tuesday.
Today, some chose to evacuate, while others went into lockdown and resume classes later in the day.
“You can appreciate the disruption that has caused not only the students but obviously the operation of the school and then the suffering for not only the students but their parents, so we have worked very closely with the schools to provide that .” reassurance,” said O’Brien.
Most of the call threats involved an explosive device, which is why police believed the calls came from the same person, O’Brien said.
Asked if the caller demanded anything, such as money, he said he didn’t want to go into details; however, the calls threatened to be so damaging that schools had no choice but to take them seriously.
He said he wasn’t 100 percent sure they were from offshore, but police were investigating that possibility.
In 2017, a similar threat came from offshore and that person was held accountable.
O’Brien said Checkpoint Police would work with international partners to ensure the caller is punished.
“I would ask anyone if they have any information to contact the police.”
He wanted to reassure parents and students that the police were doing everything possible to locate the source and that they were also working closely with schools to ensure they had clear procedures in place to deal with such threats in emergencies.
“The threat level is low, but we are reminding schools to take appropriate action if they receive these types of threats.”
Waitaki Girls high school principal Liz Koni confirmed that Oamaru school was one of the threats and was evacuated as a result.
“We got a fake phone call at the school office just before noon today,” she said.
“The police were immediately contacted and we were evacuated to the reception center. The evacuation went very smoothly, the students were well behaved and settled.
“Police arrived and searched the property – their response and support was excellent. At 1pm, we were given full clearance and the students were able to return to their classes. The parents were notified immediately after we returned to school and the rest of the the day was untouched.”
‘Unprovoked, disturbing’
Bomb threats made against schools across the country in recent days have come from a foreign cyberbot, the Principals’ Federation says.
President Cherie Taylor-Patel said the hoaxes were distressing to those affected.
She had spoken to education secretary Iona Holsted about the threats.
“The ministry has said their understanding is that this was actually a cyberbot that came from abroad. It apparently happened a few years ago, so it happened before, but it’s clearly not something anyone is prepared for and it’s something no one wants to happen.”
She praised the efforts of schools to evacuate their students and remain calm despite the threats.
“Today’s incidents were really unexpected, unprovoked and very disturbing for the communities involved,” Taylor-Patel said.
Police Secretary Chris Hipkins had a message for people ringing schools with bomb threats: don’t be idiots.
He said the police and the Ministry of Education had plans to deal with threats.