NEWBURY PARK : School Evacuated Over Bomb Scare

A bomb-like device discovered Wednesday in a locker at Newbury Park High School forced the evacuation of hundreds of students before authorities discovered the device was a fake.

The incident marked the second time in two weeks that the school was evacuated because of a bomb scare.

On Sept. 30, administrators evacuated the school’s 1,525 students after an explosive device was found in a stairwell. Ventura County sheriff’s explosives experts who removed the bomb said it could have maimed or killed students if it had been detonated.

On Wednesday, sheriff’s investigators called to the school’s two-story science building discovered what looked like a “timed device” in a student locker. The locker was accessible because it was not assigned, Detective Joe Braga said.

Braga said the school was tipped off about 9:50 a.m. by an anonymous telephone caller who told school officials where the device was located. Students were evacuated about 9:55 a.m. The device was removed about 2 p.m. with the help of a robot loaned by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“This thing looked for real,” Braga said. “There’s no way you can tell.”

Investigators are trying to determine if the two incidents are related, Braga said.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Robert E. Lewis, who was called to the campus Wednesday, said he was alarmed that the school would be the target of two similar bomb incidents within a month.

“I’m absolutely shocked,” Lewis said. “I can’t even comprehend the kind of person who would do this.”

The City Council on Tuesday night set aside a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the first incident. An additional $1,000 is being offered by the Ventura County Crime Stoppers, and the high school has offered a $250 reward.

Principal Chuck Eklund said the school has stepped up security since the discovery of the first device.