They didn’t “send” students home, they kicked them out of the Fralic Center after several of them started fighting. They told them to get out and go home. Anyone who drove through Penn Hills this morning would have seen the hundreds of students roaming the streets. They were literally everywhere on Stotler, Orchard, Frankstown, Universal, etc. AFTER they were told to go home, buses were sent out to pick up the students which only made traffic worse. Why didn’t they just put them on buses AT the Fralic center to begin with?

Excellent. Let’s get all of the rumors and speculation out there on the airwaves just as soon as we can. Way to go KDKA. It is always so helpful to the police and investigators to know that our local media is out there helping to spread gossip and heresay! I wish people would let the people in the know do their jobs rather than getting so angry and paranoid that things are being kept from them. Be thankful that kids were turned away and sent home. I’d rather my son walk a half an hour than be in an unsafe situation. I’m grateful for quick action and careful investigation by our police and administration.

i heard rumors of a bomb threat, multiple janitors and security guards holding up the school with guns, the cafteria was set on fire, and theyre threatening to shoot anyone that comes near the school. students were moved from morning buses to the fralic center, were mulitple snowball riots and fights broke out. many students were arrested and tasored. they also sent in the dog and pretty much every police dispatcher is there. its hectic. glad i got out early.

it was crazy so many things were going on you didnt know what to do. They wanted us to go in the fralic center than they wanted us out. But other wise the cops sent us home with no transportation.

There were also multiple bombs found in the school, as well as numerous pistols and assault rifles, i’ve also heard that part of the cafeteria was on fire. Luckily i left as soon as the fights and tazing had begun, also K-9 unit dogs were unleashed upon the rioters, what i have just said was told to me by multiple reliable sources so this is what I’m goin to believe

This was terrible.. Im am pretty sure that PHSD is familar with Columbine and 9/11.. So why is it that they had no type of protocol in place for something like this. The school and the police put these kids in more danger by letting them roam around like lost animals. We as parents and citizens of Penn Hills pay alot of money in taxes to the borough and this is the best they can do. They really dropped the ball this time. Why was there no type of notification to parents that there was a situation going on. Why did we have to find out thru kids calling, texting, facebook, other people and the news first. Why is it that I got a automated call stating that the buses were going to be late, but nothing about that there is a incident. Some one could have been seriously hurt or killed today. The school should have had better control over the situation. Its kinda funny that if you attempt to go to the schools for anything it can be like trying to get into Fort Knox at times you gotta go thru security show ID get patted down just to drop off your kids homework at the front office, No ID and you are not even getting in the 2nd door. Why you ask because its for the safety of the children. So where was the safety of the children at today?????? Where were the security guards at today? Why weren’t they securing the premises. Why were these children allowed to roam around on their own like that. Where were the teachers the principles and any of the other administrative personnel at today? If they were all following some type of procedure, all the other chaos probably wouldn’t have happened. This needs to be investigated inside and out. Someone dropped the ball and all of this should have been handled much better. Remember Columbine, remember 9/11 … No one was expecting it, but it happened therefore we should be prepared and have some type of protocol in place… If we don’t protect our future who will…..

I am a student at the high school and its was so bad. I will tell you being at the high school doesn’t make me feel safe anymore. I heard that there was 7 bombs in the school and that i was in the ferlic and there was at least 5 fights and they brought the dogs into the school and people got tased and alot of kids were very scared and shaken up. My friend was in the school the whole time and i talked to her and she is scared for life now because of this. I just wanted to put my comment out here and let everyone know what i have heard, seen, and experienced.

I have also been informed of 9 pipe bombs being found within the school

Not happy at all the way this was handled. They should have kept the kids on the buses and moved them to Penn Hills Shopping Center till all was cleared. If the kids where left on the buses then the fights would not have broken out. Not happy either that i got a call from my 14 year old daughter telling me that she was told to get of the property and walk home and she had no idea how to go from where they have dropped her off at!!!!!!!

The kids made it worse by starting fights. That did not help the situation, They evacuated the building like they were supposed to. My son had an 25 min walk home I’m glad he is home safe.

I love hearing from all these parents blaming the faculty for the fights. Because you know the kids just can’t control themselves if they are put in a room, what a crazy thought. These kids need to learn RESPECT and the parents are not at all setting a good example by complaining and bad mouthing those in charge.

And also try to look at all sides. I’m sure they were trying to do the best they could which what they have. There are only so many school buses and they knew that elementary age children would be waiting at their bus stops.

People need to understand the whole situation is ugly and there’s not going to be a perfect plan as to how to handle this kind of situation. It’s a shame that this situation even has to happen. But that’s the kind of children our society is raising.

For crying out loud, the issue here is: GET THE KIDS OFF CAMPUS!!! If there had been any real bombs found, we would have been freaking out saying why weren’t they getting the kids off campus!! Contacting parents is a secondary concern. Primary is getting them out of immediate danger. Brad, though rude, is right. I know it is scary…I have kids in Penn Hills. I have friends at the high school. It is ok to be scared. What I don’t understand is the immediate reaction that the officials and administration are to blame. The idiot who called in the bomb threat is to blame!! Our children, rightly scared, act up and get into trouble. Though not helpful, it is somewhat understandable. But we, as parents, are the grownups. It is our job to keep our cool and keep our heads and help our children. Sounds like no one was unsafe…kids with cells got a hold of parents. Even those sent home walking are safer than being close to school with a bomb threat. BE GRATEFUL, not angry. It makes the Penn Hills, and the world, for that matter, a better place. Jumping to anger, blame and paranoia helps no one and is a lousy example to our kids.

im a student at penn hills hight school it was crazy fights boke out. i hear about the 6 boms and guns and a fire. it was crazy

Glad to hear that everyone was ok, but I think the parents of the kids have a right to be frustrated. PH School should have had a better handle on supervising the kids, rather than buzzing all around getting the latest information. If the faculty had been more focused on the kids at the Fralic Center, they would have been out of the way of the professionals looking for the bombs, and the fights may not have happened. All of the teachers present should have been sent to the Fralic Center except the ones in charge. That way the kids wouldn’t have been sent on their way on foot. The lady who said that diverting the buses to PH Shopping Center had an idea, but PH would have had to start sending faculty up there to keep the kids in one area and safe. I think the Fralic Center is a better solution, still on campus, grant you, but not attached to the HS, separated by Roberts and lots of ground (with the field and driveways). The problem here was supervision and planning.

Does not surprise me. Now I see why my wife has daughter in Private School

It’s about HOW it was handled. Yes they got the kids away from the building the way they were supposed to, but they had no plan after that. Those kids sat in buses along Frankstown Road at the beginning before it was decided to move them down to Fralic. Nothing was explained to the kids so the rumors started. Once the kids were moved to Fralic there still wasn’t really a plan, the kids didn’t know what was going on, no one took charge and said “Look, this is what happened, this is what’s going on, here is what we’re going to do until we can fix it,” Instead, they shoved 1200 students into a building and wouldn’t answer their questions. How would you react to that? Seriously. you show up for work one day, they won’t let you in, they reroute your bus and put you in a room and won’t answer you. Maybe you wouldn’t start a fight but I’m sure more than a few of you would have a few words to say and maybe even some yelling. When you’re dealing with a school, especially of this size, there should be a plan in place for every situation ahead of time. If one of those kids had been hit by a car this morning and a lawsuit was filed, the taxpayers would be picking up the tab. Those who are saying we’re wrong to complain about this would be complaining about paying for lawsuits because kids were sent home.

Lets be clear here. I am a resident of Penn Hills with a child in kindergarten and a husband who is a teacher at the high school. He is one of the ones who goes in early and was sent to the auditorium. For your information, there was a call placed to parents on the emergency call system around 9:00am and it clearly stated that there was a bomb threat and the students were to be bused home due to the police ordering the school closed. No one was allowed on the premises and the students were sent to Fralic Center so the buses could get the remaining students to the middle school and elementary school and then would be diverted back to pick up the high school kids. The rumors are ridiculous! Penn Hills went above and beyond to keep the kids safe. The only thing I am upset about is that they kept the teachers on the grounds while they searched for the shooters even though they needed to in order to ensure there were not shooters on the grounds. I am glad they are concerned about the kids, but aren’t the teachers just as valuable? I live off of Stotler and there were no kids roaming the streets. If they were, they are high school kids and most of their parents were probably at work and the kids thought it was a free for all and thought they could act like morons cause most of the police were tied up at the school. Per speaking with my husband, the County police ordered the students to go home and not Penn Hills police so if you are upset, call them! Our tax dollars and our municipality had nothing to do with it and I am frustrated that everyone is always quick to blame the municipality. Get the facts straight first! All of the elementary schools were placed on lock-down and I was never worried about myself, my child, or my husband. My husband called me with updates as they happened and I was aware of what was happening all morning. I live less than a mile away and I felt secure as well. I am a Plum alumni and when these calls were placed there, we were sent to the football field bleachers and then sent back into the building once sweeped. We never were sent home and parents usually heard only from us when we got home. Grow up people. Let’s set better examples for our kids. Maybe that’s why they act like this- they are leading by example!

I’m officially hating Penn Hills right now. You’d think they’d have the decency to keep their students safe, including me. I don’t care if you have to put in three, four different buildings. Just try to keep us all safe.

lazy

WOW…way to go Penn Hills…what a great educational institution!

I am floored at these responses.. Penn hills parents WERE called, they assembled in the fralic center to be picked up by buses. They weren’t told because the police didn’t know exactly what they were dealing with. Why create panic of you aren’t sure? Also, why would the kids spread rumors, let’s think, oh ya to go home from school. I can’t say I blame them for that, they are kids. But the parents are believing the stupid rumors. Folks, Penn hills school district and the police dept did their jobs. They kept your children safe. That is job numbers 1,2 and 3. They did, in fact, put them in a safe place. They did provide transportation. Buses don’t magically appear, they need to be called and get to their destination. Bottom line your kids are safe. Period. The persons involved did their job. All this complaining is based on what our kids told you. NOT what really happened. Amazing….

Thats crazy i got family that go to that school Imani christain academy is the school to be at.

Please, people. Name calling and fighting just lends fuel to the fire. I understand many of you were scared, and now angry. But I will not be convinced that wrong was done here on the part of the administration and public officials. I would think that thanksgiving that no one was hurt would be the norm here. I, too, am shocked that there aren’t more people being grateful for safety. I am well informed enough to know that even the most well informed of us probably don’t know the whole of the situation. I suppose anyone has the right to be angry, but for me, anger just makes any situation more fraught and teaches our kids not to respect authority. But that is just my opinion, just as the above are your opinions which you have every right to have.

This whole thing and reading these comments is cracking me up! Thank goodness I don’t have kids in Penn Hills. First, they get rid of all the vocational programs and laid off how many teachers? Then get sued for doing so because they couldn’t even figure out how to furlough teachers according to their contract. There go so more of your tax dollars. Have you guys not figured out that PH administration can not do ANYTHING right! I’d get my kids out of there as fast as I could.

Dena, Grow up, I said the kids were acting like morons, not that they were. And yes, Heather, I would be upset about my child walking home and I am a working parent. I agree some things were not handled well, but when the county police come in and override the Penn Hills police and school administration, there is nothing that can be done. My cousin is a police officer in Penn Hills and he does an amazing job! I have never felt unsafe in Penn Hills and have always felt protected and heard by Penn Hills Police. The buses did arrive for the students later, but not until after the students already began acting out. From what I understand, the kids were not informed why they were there and that wasn’t right. It is no wonder they acted up because they were angry or afraid. It still doesn’t give them the right to act out, but that’s teenagers, or kids in general. If you are that defensive about the term “moron” in relation to kids, then you obviously might want to check yourself. If my child was acting up, I would not be offended that someone called him a moron if he was acting like one. Kids need to be held accountable for their actions. Teens know what they are doing. We need to stop making excuses for them. The incident by the students can’t be blamed on the school. There were plenty of police and administration there. The teachers that were detained at the high school were detained while they searched the permimeter, so should they have been placed at risk to leave the school and go to Fralic to control the students who should know better than to act the way they did. Broken windows? Really? Ridiculous! The reports are saying that one child was actually hurt in the “melee” which is unacceptable. The students should be ashamed of how they acted. This is a parenting issue, not a teacher or school problem. Yeah, maybe I am more defensive because I have a husband who gives his all everyday to teach the kids at Penn Hills, but I am also a parent of two boys, one of which is enrolled in the district and the other who is not yet of age. When my son acts up, I blame myself or him, not the teachers in his school. Teachers are there to teach our kids, not be a parent and teach kids what they should be getting at home.