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Police: Bomb threat prompts evacuation of 209 residents from HGA center; multiagency response clears building
Summary
West Hills Regional Police reported a bomb threat at the HGA residential center that required evacuating 209 resident students; state police and bomb-detection teams assisted and the building was cleared after several hours. Officials said the multiagency response went smoothly and a debrief is planned.
West Hills Regional Police Chief Newman told the Upper Yoder supervisors that a threat against the HGA residential center in April forced a precautionary evacuation of 209 resident students. "The threat made to the HGA Andrew center was quite a daunting task due to the size of the building," the chief said, describing a multiagency response that included West Hills officers, state police and K‑9 bomb-detection teams.
The evacuation moved students to Westmont High School with the help of eight Cam Tran buses. Chief Newman said the building required several hours to clear and that, while there were no reported injuries, both vehicles involved in a separate reportable accident on Galer and Cell streets were towed. "It went very well," he said of the HGA response, noting cooperation from the school district, fire department and regional partners.
Emergency-services staff later provided timing details: from the superintendent’s notification until the property was cleared took roughly one hour and two minutes; the special-transport portion with buses moving students back to the school took about 58 minutes. Mr. Wright, who oversees local emergency operations, said incident-command forms and cost tabulations have been completed and that the agencies will conduct a debrief to identify lessons and improvements.
Officials said they would pursue restitution for reasonable response costs where appropriate. "All incident-related expenses are being tabulated and we'll be working on whatever needs to occur," Mr. Wright said, referring to potential billing or restitution tied to the individual responsible for the threat.
The board was also told that the department is working more closely with state police in the area and has stepped up enforcement in school zones and other problem corridors. Supervisors asked staff to pursue a grant for speed signs to supplement targeted enforcement in neighborhoods near schools.
The township expects to review the after-action debrief at a future board meeting; no formal policy changes were announced at this meeting.
