Police today received reports of a number of telephone threats against schools in Canterbury.
A police spokesman said an investigation is underway into the threats at schools in Kaikoura, Rolleston, Geraldine and Ashburton.
Threats were also reported at schools in Masterton, Greymouth, Queenstown, Levin, Whanganui, Takaka, Dunstan and Palmerston North.
Rolleston College is one of the targeted schools. Awatapu College in Palmerston North received a bomb threat today, according to a post on the school’s Facebook page just before 12:30 p.m.
“The police take these kinds of threats very seriously and are investigating the source of the calls,” the spokesperson said.
“At this stage, the police do not believe there is a security risk.”
Police have also responded to threats at Wakatipu High School in Queenstown, Dunstan High School in Alexandra and Waitaki Girls’ High School in Oamaru.
Emergency services including Fire and Emergency New Zealand attended the call at Wakatipu High School and students were evacuated.
Two days ago, six schools on the North Island were either closed or evacuated following telephone threats to the schools.
The Department of Education said it was aware of threats against five schools in Waikato and one school in Gisborne.
Matamata College, Matamata Intermediate, Thames High School, Cambridge High School, Firth Primary School and Lytton High School all posted on Facebook around noon that they had received threats and either evacuated students or went into lockdown.
The central region of the Ministry of Education, hautū (leader) Jocelyn Mikaere, said the schools immediately started their emergency plans and the police responded.
“Our teams are in contact with all schools and are ready to provide all necessary support,” Mikaere said on Tuesday.
A police spokesperson said officers investigated the investigation and believed there was no specific security risk.
“The investigation into the source of the threats is ongoing.
“Police thank the schools involved for following their emergency procedures and the wider school communities for their cooperation.”
By Oscar Francis, NZ Herald, Star News