Close to 500 children had to be evacuated from the Bessie Owens Intermediate School in East Bakersfield after what was thought to be a pipe bomb was found in a student's backpack, Your 23 reported.
The suspicious-looking pipe was actually given to a teacher Thursday after a student reported seeing it in another student's backpack. Police said that the teacher put the pipe in a desk overnight.
Friday morning when the teacher brought it to the vice principal, he immediately called police and evacuated the students.
Word of the bomb squad being at the school quickly spread throughout the neighborhood, causing many parents to panic, Your 23 reported.
Visibly shaken Maria Herrejon told Your 23 that she received a telephone call saying that something had happened at the school. She said that she didn't know what exactly was going on, but feared for her daughter's safety -- as did other parents and friends, Your 23 reported.
"I heard everybody in the neighborhood saying there was a bomb warning at this school, and once we heard we jumped in the truck and get over here as soon as we could," said Leonardo Ocampo, a friend of one of the students.
Most students remained calm, although they told Your 23 that several children were crying and very scared.
"They just told us to sit down and stay calm and wait 'till they did the stuff they needed to do," student Miguel Olivares said.
After sending in their robot, the bomb squad detonated the pipe.
"It was a six to eight inch PVC pipe with PVC end caps on either end and it was wrapped up in duct tape, however the contents were not explosive material," Det. Mary DeGeare of the Bakersfield Police Department said.
The police told Your 23 that the sixth grader who brought the pipe to school said that he found it in Rio Bravo. According to police he brought it to school to show a friend and see if it could be used to launch a rocket, Your 23 reported.
Police don't believe that he meant any harm. Their investigation is now closed and it will be up to the school to decide if and how the student will be disciplined, Your 23 reported.
Copyright 2001 by TheBakersfieldChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
