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Threat Prompts Heightened Security At Local Prom

INDIANA, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Indiana Senior High Prom this evening will feature a new twist that's a sign of the times.

There will be more security and students will be screened as they enter the gym, and later, a country club.

It turns out someone scribbled a bomb threat in a bathroom at the high school, which mentions the prom.

School officials say they have no choice; they have to make sure the prom is safe.

State police will be among the students as they arrive in their tuxedos and gowns.

The students have to go through screening when they enter the gym for the prom's grand march. Bags will be tagged and secured by parent chaperones.

There will be additional screening later when the party heads to Chestnut Ridge Country Club. Chaperones and security guards will also be posted at the club's exit doors and hallways.

"We found a message on a restroom stall on May 3 indicating something may happen on May 17, which is today, the date of our prom," said Superintendent Dale Kirsch. "Since then, the state police have been involved and our school staff has been investigating.

School officials call this a "low grade" threat. But it's a threat nonetheless.

RELATED LINKS:
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