Marlborough Girls' College in Blenheim went into lockdown after it received a threat over the phone, the second in 24 hours. Photo / Matt Brown for Top South Media
Police are speaking to two young people after a threat forced a Blenheim school into lockdown earlier today.
Emergency services have alluded to the call to Marlborough Girls' College as being a hoax, while the school's principal said the lockdown has since been lifted.
Tasman area commander Simon Feltham said police believed there was no further threat to the public following the incident.
"Police are speaking to two young people in relation to the incident," Feltham said.
"Emergency services want to stress the negative impact hoax calls have on the community and on resources that may be needed to respond to other priority incidents."
A number of police units were sent to the school after it received the second threat against the school in 24 hours earlier today.
College principal Mary-Jeanne Lynch said on Facebook the lockdown has since been lifted and the threat to the school was now "resolved".
A number of other schools voluntarily locked down following the threat and police advised the public to avoid the area.
In an earlier Facebook post, Lynch said all students and staff were "safe inside the building and police are present and are investigating".
"Please remain outside the police cordons."
Police were also called to the school around 2pm yesterday and were speaking to one person in relation to what happened, the school said.
Today's threat was not believed to be linked to threats towards other schools made this week, a police spokesperson said.
Earlier today, numerous schools nationwide received phone threats, with Awatapu College, Rolleston College and Wakatipu High School among those targeted.
Police revealed inquiries are under way in relation to threats at schools in Masterton, Kaikōura, Greymouth, Queenstown, Levin, Whanganui, Rolleston, Takaka, Geraldine, Dunstan, Ashburton and Palmerston North.
On Tuesday similar threats were made to six schools in the North Island, and they and neighbouring schools went into lockdown as a precaution.
Police said they take such threats "extremely seriously" and are making inquiries to find the source of the calls.
"At this stage police do not believe there is a safety risk."
Police thanked the schools involved for following their emergency procedures in response to the threats.
In response to a query from the Herald, police said the threats made no mention of vaccinations, mandates or masking and there was nothing to suggest they were related to these issues.
Awatapu College in Palmerston North posted on its Facebook page just before 12.30pm that it had received a bomb threat today.
"Police believe the risk is very low but in an abundance of caution we have made the decision to evacuate the school," the post said.
Students Year 10 and older were to make their way home and call their parents if possible, while Year 9s and others who couldn't get home were to report to the gym, which had been cleared by police.
Meanwhile, emergency services including Fire and Emergency New Zealand were called to Wakatipu High School in Queenstown and students were evacuated, the Otago Daily Times reported.
Students at Rolleston College, near Christchurch, were also evacuated after a threat was received before midday.
Police also confirmed Geraldine High School received a bomb threat.
Ministry of Education hautū (leader) of operations Sean Teddy said the ministry was "aware that multiple schools across the motu have received a threat".
"All schools and kura have established emergency management protocols in place, which they activate if a risk is identified.
"We are in contact with those schools and kura that received the message to provide guidance, if needed."
Two days ago six North Island schools were either thrust into lockdown or evacuated after threats were made over the phone.
The Ministry of Education said it was aware of threats made towards 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 announced on Facebook around noon that they had received threats and were either evacuating students, or had gone into lockdown.
At the time ministry hautū for the Central region, Jocelyn Mikaere, said the schools immediately initiated their emergency management plans and the police responded.
"Our teams are in contact with all of the schools and are prepared to provide whatever support is needed," Mikaere said on Tuesday.
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