By KEVIN DENNEHY
STAFF WRITER
HARWICH - An 18-year-old student who allegedly threatened to blow up Cape Cod Regional Technical High School earlier in the week was arrested yesterday after teachers had found a suspected pipe bomb.
A member of the state police bomb squad carries a device across an athletic field at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School yesterday. It was later detonated in a controlled explosion.
(Staff photo by Ron Schloerb) |
''It was either a bomb or an almost completed bomb,'' Harwich police Lt. Barry Mitchell said.
A bomb squad detonated the suspicious device yesterday afternoon near one of the technical school's athletic fields.
As Brooks was taken from campus, hundreds of other students were sent home early and school sports events were canceled. Tests being conducted by Massachusetts State Police should determine whether the pipe, about the size of a soda bottle, contained any explosives.
Brooks' arrest came two days after he said within earshot of teacher Pat Merrick that he would ''come back and blow up the school,'' according to police. Merrick spoke to Brooks about his threats but wasn't truly concerned until the student started exploding caps with a hammer in the HVAC shop on Thursday.
Merrick's concern deepened when he then found the device, which consisted of copper pipe resembling a pipe bomb, according to a statement the shop instructor provided to police.
Merrick told police he asked Brooks to throw the pipe away but saw the student try to smuggle the device out of the room.
''Apparently, the teacher thought he was just shooting his mouth off,'' Mitchell said. ''But after he saw the device, he was concerned that it was more than just an idle threat.''
Yesterday, school officials showed the device to Officer Jonathan Mitchell, the school resource officer, who then questioned the student.
After Brooks allegedly admitted to making the threat earlier in the week, Mitchell arrested Brooks and notified Harwich police officials.
Within minutes, police and fire crews swarmed to the school, and students and faculty were ushered away from the school's east wing. A state police bomb squad was called from the Berkshires.
Before arresting Brooks, Mitchell asked the student whether he had made the threat.
''Yeah, I said that,'' he told the officer, according to a police report. ''I say a lot of crazy things.''
The 18-year-old was arraigned in Orleans District Court yesterday on three charges: making a bomb, possession of an infernal machine and possession of a hoax device.
Brooks was released on his own personal recognizance and is scheduled to return to court for a March 11 pre-trial conference.
During yesterday's evacuation, students were told there was no real danger, said Rachel Purtle, a 14-year-old freshman from Brewster.
''There were cops all over the building,'' she said. ''They did locker checks, and some people were freaked out.''
At about 1:15 p.m., students were dismissed so police could prepare to destroy the device with a controlled explosion in a makeshift hole dug next to an athletic field.
Once the buses were gone, traffic on nearby Route 124 was stopped as explosives technicians prepared to blow up the device.
Dressed in protective gear, they fastened an explosive to the pipe and, at about 3:10 p.m., destroyed the device.
At about 4 p.m. as police cleaned up the area, a man who described himself as Brooks' stepfather called the entire incident a misunderstanding.
''I think the school has blown this completely out of proportion,'' he said, pointing toward the athletic field. ''This is way too much.''
William Fisher, principal of the 720-student school, said administrators had no choice but to take the incident seriously.
''We live in a world and a society where these things sometimes happen,'' he said. ''We didn't think the students were in any real danger, but we didn't want to take any chances.''
Fisher said Brooks has been placed on an indefinite suspension from the school.
Kevin Dennehy can be reached at kdennehy@capecodonline.com.
(Published: February 11, 2006)
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