An evacuation of two Citrus Heights schools has been lifted following a bomb threat earlier today.
On Friday, the same schools, Mesa Verde High and neighboring Carriage Drive Elementary, were evacuated following a report that a student had been seen on the Mesa Verde campus with a handgun, a report that authorities have determined was a hoax.
Students at Mesa Verde High and Carriage Drive Elementary School were evacuated from their classrooms at noon today after Mesa Verde officials received a phone call stating that there was an explosive device on campus.
Mesa Verde students were directed to the football field and Carriage Drive students were taken to a nearby church, said Trent Allen, San Juan Unified School District spokesman.
Citrus Heights police searched both campuses, but no bomb was found and the evacuation was lifted at 2:45 p.m.
Allen said there is no evidence that today's call was linked to the report Friday that a student had been seen on the Mesa Verde campus with a handgun in his waistband, but he said authorities are investigating that possibility.
Allen said it has been determined that two Mesa Verde High students were responsible for Friday's report of a student with a gun, a report that he said proved to be a hoax. He said the students were cited by police and face disciplinary action at school.
"We will continue to take all incidents seriously," Allen said.
Parents of students at both schools were notified of today's evacuation via automated telephone calls. Parents of students at the elementary school were given the option of picking up their children at the church.
Mesa Verde students initially were required to remain on campus but were allowed to leave once a safe route off the site had been identified, Allen said.
He said students in the after-school program at Carriage Drive Elementary were returned to the campus once the evacuation was lifted.
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