Dubai school 'threatening call' was a hoax: Police

Dubai - "The health and safety of our students is paramount and we would like to thank all of our parents for their support throughout this evacuation."

The Dubai British School (DBS), The Springs, Emirates Hills was evacuated after school officials received a 'threatening phone call' from an anonymous source. Following the anonymous phone call received by the school receptionist at 11.15 am, the school was immediately evacuated.
Ros Marshall, Chief Executive Officer of Taaleem said: "Following an anonymous phone call to the school this morning, we implemented our security procedures; evacuated the school, and alerted the authorities."
"The health and safety of our students is paramount and we would like to thank all of our parents for their support throughout this evacuation," she added.
However, the source and nature of the phone call is yet to be ascertained. School officials also stated that the school was due to close early today anyway due to the ongoing Dubai Tour.
School officials also stated that the drill went on very smoothly since the students are made to practice mock drills on a regular basis.
Police investigation into the matter is ongoing and as of now there are no confirmed reports of other schools that were affected by such calls.
DBS is home to over 1,000 students from the age group of 3 to 18. Marshall clarified that all students of the school are safe and operations will resume as normal on Sunday.
Dubai Police officials confirmed that the threatening call to Dubai British School was apparently a hoax call. An official source in Dubai Police explained that investigators and police patrols traveled to the headquarters of the school and it turned out to be a hoax. Police are currently continuing investigation to ensure complete safety and determine who placed the call.
Parents with children at the school were alarmed at the viral posts on social media websites.  Several community groups on Facebook updated their statuses of the evacuation and the 'threatening call'.
JKJ, a parent of the school said that they momentarily got very worried for the safety of her child. She said: "When parents arrived at the school they were asked to rush out with their children and not enter the school campus." 
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

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