ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Allentown School District was targeted Wednesday with its third false bomb threat in less than a week.
Allentown police responded around 11 a.m. to Allen High School, where officers and canines swept the school; they found no explosive devices or suspicious packages in the school or on the property, according to Assistant Police Chief James Gress.
Police conducted similarly fruitless searches at Trexler Middle School after a bomb threat was reported there Sept. 11 and again on Monday.
Two unnamed male students were arrested after those hoax reports. Both were charged with making terroristic threats while one also faces a disorderly conduct charge.
“If there’s an actual emergency, minutes — seconds — matter."Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca
No one was arrested in connection with the threat at Allen High School as of Wednesday night. Police are asking anyone with information about the threat to call 610-437-7721 or 610-437-7753 or submit a tip online or via the Tip411 app.
Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca on Wednesday night said he worries about someone using a false threat to divert “many important public safety resources” to one location while committing crimes somewhere else.
“If there’s an actual emergency, minutes — seconds — matter,” Roca said at a council committee meeting.
“That actually happened a year ago,” Councilwoman Candida Affa said, recalling a May 2024 bank robbery that occurred as police were searching Muhlenberg College for an armed person reported to be on campus about a mile and a half away.
That call was later determined to be a hoax.
“I encourage anybody from the public that's listening to not make those choices to call in false hoaxes or anything of that nature — because it's not acceptable, and you will be held accountable,” Roca said Wednesday.
