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BOMB THREAT — Sulphur Springs ISD staff members greet parents as they arrive to pickup their students from the League Street Church of Christ where they were evacuated while officers investigated a bomb threat. Staff photo by Faith Huffman -
CROWDED SCENE — Traffic was heavy Wednesday as parents picked up students following the bomb threat. Staff photo by Faith Huffman -
SUSPECT ARRESTED — Morgan Rechelle Durrett of Dallas, Texas was arrested as a suspect in connection with Wednesday's bomb threat in Sulphur Springs Elementary School. She faces third degree felony charges for terrorist threat.
Classes cancelled at SSES while building searched
A 36-year-old Dallas woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon in connection with a bomb threat called in to Sulphur Springs Elementary.
In a call to SSES, made while students were being dropped off at the school Wednesday morning, a caller allegedly claimed there was a bomb in the building.
“Our staff quickly initiated their evacuation protocol and began getting students and staff out of the building. Students were then safely escorted across the street to League Street Church of Christ,” Sulphur Springs ISD Assistant Superintendent Justin Cowart said.
All other Sulphur Springs ISD campuses were placed in “secure mode” as a precaution Wednesday morning.
Local law enforcement was also notified. Sulphur Springs ISD Police, Sulphur Springs Police and Fire Departments, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Hopkins County Sheriff ’s Office and EMS responded, along with Sulphur Springs ISD administrators, at the school and church.
League Street was shut down temporarily in front of the school to allow the classes of children to safely cross, escorted by SSES staff and officers. Children were escorted to the designated safe location at the church, while additional officers also secured the church grounds.
Some officers patrolled the grounds at the church, while others responded at SSES to begin the process of searching the campus for any bomb or potentially harmful device.
“Officers immediately began investigating the origin of the threat,” SSPD Chief Jason Ricketson stated in a public information release.
Officials requested specially trained law enforcement canines to respond at SSES to help to search the campus. Local officials were also reportedly working with federal authorities to try to determine the source of the call.
Notification was sent to parents that their SSES students had been evacuated, but that all students and staff were safe at the church.
Around 9 a.m., parents of SSES students were instructed to pick their SSES students up at League Street Church of Christ, as classes were being cancelled at SSES for the rest of the day due to the length of time needed to be certain the building was safe. Notice was posted on the school district’s social media accounts at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 18 for parents to park at the church, then walk to the front door. An ID was requested for parents to collect their SSES children.
Officers continued to monitor the student pick up process in the church parking lot, which soon filled with parents and grandparents. Because of the size of the church parking lot and number of children to be collected, parents were warned the process would take several minutes. A steady stream of vehicles filled League Street for more than an hour, with traffic at least a block long north of the church and school, and spanning onto the League Street bridge to the south. Parents also parked at Church of the Nazarene and walked next door to collect their children, while others parked along the sides of Lee and League Streets and walked across to get their kids.
By 10 a.m., only a few children had yet to be picked up by parents. Any students remaining were to be bused elsewhere for lunch, then, disbursed later if parents were unable to retrieve them. Sheriff ’s deputies remained at the church while students were present as a safety precaution.
SSES staff at that time had returned to the campus to gather what was required, then began leaving a few at a time.
“Our teachers, principals, aides and staff worked to get students out of the building and to safety. Then, they helped organize the students and began the process of reunification of students with their parents/ guardians. Our students were so calm and waited patiently. This is a testament to our staff and how they handled a stressful situation in a calm and efficient manner,” Cowart said.
Law enforcement at that time reported no bomb had been detected after more than one sweep of the campus, but the investigation was ongoing.
Around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 18, Assistant Superintendent Justin Coward reported “the building was checked two times by our 1st responders, and additionally by a K9 unit from the ATF.”
Just after 5 p.m., SSPD Chief Ricketson reported the investigation into the bomb threat had “led to an arrest warrant being issued for 36-year-old Morgan Rechelle Durrett of Dallas, Texas. Durrett was later escorted back to Sulphur Springs where she was booked into the Hopkins County Jail on the third-degree felony warrant for Terroristic Threat.”
Morgan Rechelle Durrett was also charged on a misdemeanor terroristic threat causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury warrant. She remained in Hopkins County jail Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, in lieu of a $100,000 bond on the felony terroristic threat charge and a $1,000 bond on the other, according to Hopkins County jail reports.
On behalf of SSISD following the incident Wednesday afternoon, Cowart expressed to the following groups who helped turn “a scary situation into a good outcome” the following: “Thank you to each department who sent officers, firemen and EMS to our campus and to the church. They made sure that students were safe and that is always our top priority. Within minutes of the first call we had multiple officers at SSES and more and more kept coming.
“Thank you to our parents and guardians for your patience and understanding. We know in stressful times it is easy to become upset or angry when you have to wait to pick up your child on a day like today, but everyone handled the situation well. We had 100% of our students safely picked up from the church and admin building today.
“League Street Church of Christ offered our students and staff a safe place to meet. They opened their doors, their bathrooms, their parking lot and worked to make everyone feel safe and welcome. Thank you for your kindness and generosity!
“District admin. and staff: thank you for helping to coordinate and support the campus today. I can't tell you how many times I was asked, 'What do you need help with?' or told 'Whatever you need,' today. That is what it means to be part of the SSISD family,' Cowart concluded.