Three area high schools threatened in one day, prompting lockdowns and class cancellations

DES MOINES, Wash. -- Des Moines police say a man called with the threat of a pipe bomb inside a bathroom at Mount Rainier High school.

As bomb-sniffing dogs began to search the school, students were already evacuated.

“They took us out to the baseball field. Police told us that it was getting serious, so they moved us farther out,” student Kyle Grillo said.

“It was going to take a while so we decided to dismiss classes early,” Highline Public School spokesperson Catherine Carbone Rogers said.

At nearly the same time, police were called to Interlake High School in Bellevue.

“Apparently someone threatened on Facebook to shoot up the school,” student Max Riebe said.

“They turned off the lights and they closed the shades, put paper over windows that didn’t have shade and made us sit under the desks,” student Daniel Donohue said.

“They searched our waistband to make sure we didn’t have any guns tucked in, the principal went through bags,” student Blake Stansbury said.

Bellevue PD tweeted, "Facebook rumors of a shooting at Interlake High School, no 911 calls of shots fired."

As the school went into lockdown, concerned parents showed up to the school.

“I’m confused on why they are locking down the school,” parent George Bullock said.

An email blast to parents gave no reason for the lockdown.

“They emailed us first thing right away that everyone was safe,” parent Alison Beltran said.

Like Mount Rainier High, Interlake decided to shut down for the day. The students were bussed to Highland Middle school for parents to pick up.

At Rogers High School in Puyallup, a third threat scribbled on a bathroom wall signaled a shooting would happen on Friday during first lunch.

Classes resumed but under heavy security.

Des Moines police say they are investigating whether the three separate cases could be related.