Farmington Police: Lone suspect likely in bomb scare

Students lost about two hours of classtime during Tuesday's bomb scare at Farmington High School, seen above. (Courtesy photo)

FARMINGTON, N.H. - Farmington Police are investigating several leads into Tuesday's bomb scare that forced a temporary evacuation of the high school and believe it was likely the work of an individual, not an organized group.

"We believe it was a lone student," said Farmington Police Chief John Drury today. "The investigation is active and ongoing."

It was around 10 a.m. that the bomb threat was discovered scratched into particle board that separates stalls in a boys' bathroom

The high school, which teaches grades nine through twelve, was temporarily evacuated for a couple of hours with staff and students sent to the Henry Wilson School before administrators got the "all clear" from a State Police bomb squad that included a K-9 unit.

Drury said any students caught that are over 18 could face jail time, while juveniles would face justice likely in the state's juvenile system.

He added that parents could face restitution costs to the town of some $1,500 to help pay municipal costs.

The Farmington High incident contrasted with two others in New Hampshire and some 20 or so in Massachusetts Tuesday in which so-called "robo-calls" alerted schools that bombs had been planted.

The FBI is expected to be investigating those incidents, including the origin of the calls and whether they were domestic or from overseas.

Meanwhile, Drury said he's hoping for a speedy resolution to the case, but there's no guarantees.

"We had two a year ago, in December of 2014 and January of 2015," he said. "We caught one, and in this type of crime, one out of two isn't bad."