Olney Charter High’s Graduation at Temple Interrupted by Bomb Threat

Liacouras Center, by See below – Wiki Takes Philadelphia, CC BY-SA 3.0,

Olney Charter High School’s graduation, held at Temple University’s Liacouras Center (1776 N Broad Street), was interrupted today by a bomb threat.

“Olney was near the end of their ceremony when Philadelphia police received a report of a bomb in a building on their 911 line,” said Ray Betzner, a spokesman for Temple University.

The building was safely evacuated and Philadelphia police are currently searching the area.  “Temple police have been on scene since after 3:00, going through the building and searching,” Betzner added.

Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan of the Philadelphia police department reported later that the search did not turn up anything. “As a precaution they are going to run bomb dogs through the building, just as an extra precaution. But at this time the call is unfounded.”

Aspira, which runs Olney Charter High, released a statement about the “emergency situation,” noting, “We apologize to our 351 OCHS seniors and their families, as well as the entire Olney community, for the inconvenience and disruption that this emergency has caused during their special day. We are cooperating with law enforcement and fire safety personnel to determine the cause and extent of the emergency, and we will keep all in the Olney community fully informed about these developments as we learn the details.”

Read the ASPIRA Schools statement in response to the interruption of Olney Charter High School's graduation ceremony pic.twitter.com/7ws1xTQDH4

— ASPIRA of PA (@ASPIRAINCOFPA) June 13, 2016

The ceremony began at 1 p.m.