Student charged with making prank call

September 28, 2006 would be remembered by students and staff of the Bishop College Kingstown as the day when they had to evacuate the school because of a bomb scare.

Akeem Sutherland, 17, of Edinboro, who was arrested and charged for making the threat, was present at the Serious Offences Court on Monday to answer the charge.{{more}}

He was charged with making a threat to Debon Moses, secretary at the school, to destroy or damage the Bishop’s College Kingstown on September 28, 2006 without lawful excuse.

Moses told the court that she received a telephone call during the break interval.

She said a male voice on the other end of the line told her that a bomb was on the school’s compound. Moses said that after the person hung up the phone, she dialed 1471 and got the caller’s telephone number.

Principal of the institution, Samantha Minors-Rouse said that she had suspended Akeem for two to three days starting from September 26 for being disrespectful to her.

She said after receiving the message from Moses she quickly ordered the students to evacuate their classrooms and then called in the police.

A fifteen-year-old past student of the school stated on that morning she left home with her aunt’s cellular phone. She said when she got to school she met Akeem on the steps at the hard court and he asked her to lend him her phone. The young lady said she heard Akeem say, “There’s a bomb in the school and you must (expletive) get out”. She told the court that she thought he was joking but when the phone was given back to her, she heard someone say “Who is this?”

The girl hung up the phone immediately because she was frightened. She then returned to her class when she heard the announcement for students to evacuate the classrooms.

The case was adjourned and is scheduled to continue today.