By Rachel Maher, the NZ Herald
Students of a central Auckland secondary college are being asked to stay away from school today after a bomb threat.
Western Springs College posted on its Facebook page the school would remain closed today after it received a threat on social media overnight.
“As a precaution, the school will remain closed until we receive clearance from the police that the buildings are safe to enter”.
Police are now at the school.
Students who have arrived for their derived grade exams are being gathered on the school field.
The college is urging year 9 and 10 students to remain home and not come to class.
The school said it may take “some time” to get clearance from the police.
“Please check your emails for further updates from the school.”
In March, Western Springs college students were dismissed at 1.30 after a student threatened another with a bomb.
Western Springs College said later said nothing was found and the school has now been deemed safe to occupy.
A parent of a Western Springs College student was told by his son they were told to leave early “because of a bomb threat”.
Principal Ivan Davis told the Herald a student allegedly threatened another with a bomb.
Last week, two South Auckland Islamic schools were sent into lockdown following violent emails sent showing a man with a gun.
After receiving an offshore video threat, Al-Madinah School and Zayed College for Girls on Westney Rd, Māngere, were forced to close last Monday.
Zayed College For Girls shared on social media that it believed the video “originated from the dark web” and preliminary investigations suggest it was sent from overseas.
“Tracing the original source may take several weeks but it is considered a serious, ongoing investigation.”
Al-Madinah senior staff member Amjad Ali told RNZ a video was sent to the school’s principal at 11pm on Sunday night.
He said the video featured a man showing guns in a car and randomly shooting, he said.
It wasn’t filmed at the school, but police recommended going into lockdown.
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
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