Police in Kansas say an elementary school secretary was arrested Wednesday in connection with an emailed bomb threat that forced a school district to cancel classes and afterschool activities over two days earlier this week.
Claudia Rodriguez-Oviedo, 32, was being held in the Pratt County jail on felony charges of aggravated criminal threat and unlawful use of computers.
In a statement, police said staff members at Pratt High School received the threat from a fake email account Monday. In response, Unified School District 382 canceled classes at all schools Tuesday while law enforcement officials searched all Pratt school facilities. No device was found.
In a letter to the district’s parents, Suzan Patton wrote that “late-night developments” Tuesday led to Rodriguez-Ovideo’s arrest the following day. She did not elaborate on what those developments were. Pratt Police Det. Jeff Ward said officers acted on information “obtained through a cooperative investigation by school officials and local law enforcement officers.”
Rodriguez-Oviedo had been listed on the Pratt Public School’s website as a secretary at Southwest Elementary School. Her image was removed following her arrest.