Home » Santa Clarita News » Crime » Update: Criminal Investigation Ongoing Over “Hoax” bomb in COC Parking Lot

Update: Criminal Investigation Ongoing Over “Hoax” bomb in COC Parking Lot

Update: contains information from a member of the Sheriff’s arson/explosives unit about the nature of the incident and the ongoing investigation.

A suspected bomb at College of the Canyons was a “hoax,” and now a criminal investigation into who planted it is underway, said Sheriff’s officials.


Sponsored Articles


Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox.

The “suspicious package” was found under a SUV parked next to Cougar Stadium, where the Canyon High School graduation ceremony was taking place Thursday night.

“The Sheriff’s Department determined the device to be a hoax,” said Eric Harnish, a spokesman for COC. “The device was blown up and rendered safe.”

The suspected bomb was described as a steel tube, taped on both ends, with a watch and some wires on top of the device, added the school’s spokesman.

“After the investigation, it was determined that the wires were not attached to anything, and the tube was hollow,” said Harnish.

The bomb threat did not shut down the Canyon High School graduation at COC’s football stadium on Thursday night, but lot 8 was closed to investigate the scene.

“We would like to thank the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Department for their outstanding work to protect the students and families at Canyon High School’s graduation last night,”  said Vicki Engbrecht, Hart District Superintendent. “We also appreciate the staff at College of the Canyons who went above and beyond by helping coordinate details with the Sheriff’s Department in order to enable this memorable night to proceed as planned.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Arson/Explosives Unit was called to handle the situation, and COC’s Lot 8 was shut down while officials determined the threat, trapping students without access to their cars.

The initial plan was to use a robot to move the device away from the SUV it was under so investigators could dispose of it, but due to the narrow space between the SUV and the cars parked next to it, a live technician was needed.

A member of the Arson/Explosives Unit attached a cable to the device and pulled it out from under the truck, allowing the team to examine it.

Despite the bomb being a fake, investigators are treating the matter with all seriousness.

The device was opened by the robot with a pressurized blast, said a member of the arson/explosives unit who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

All traffic on Valencia Blvd. was shut down while the robot moved the device to a location away from cars and bystanders in order to carry out this operation.

The next step for the investigation is to submit the parts of the fake explosive for DNA testing.

The investigator said the incident is being investigated as a bomb hoax, because it involved a credible threat and a victim: the college.

However, COC officials said every procedure was followed, and the top priority remained student safety.

“COC is committed to the safety of our students,” said Harnish. “This is the perfect example of our partnership with the Sheriff’s Department.”

Chris McCroy and Devon Miller contributed to this report.

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Update: Criminal Investigation Ongoing Over “Hoax” bomb in COC Parking Lot

One comment

  1. Great article Mccrory!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About KHTS Newsroom

KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 focuses on Santa Clarita news, traffic, weather, sports, and also plays music. Bringing you SCV breaking news first and keeping you up to date with Santa Clarita events.