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UPDATED: Fairfax High School cleared after evacuation for bomb threat

Fairfax High School (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

UpdateFairfax High School has been cleared after a sweep of the campus didn’t turn up any safety threats, police say. Students are being dismissed in accordance with “normal” procedures.

“Nothing was found and there were no reported injuries,” a Fairfax City police spokesperson said.

Earlier: Fairfax High School students and staff have been evacuated in response to a reported bomb threat.

School security asked police to respond to the school at 3501 Lion Run around 12:05 p.m., according to scanner traffic. Units with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were also dispatched to the scene around 12:13 p.m.

There is a “heavy police presence” at the school, according to the City of Fairfax Police Department. Police have blocked off the entrances to the school and Lion Run, where buses were expected to line up to pick up the evacuated students, per the police scanner.

Police are asking parents looking to pick up their children to wait in the parking lot of Home Depot at 3201 Blenheim Blvd “until we can determine a safe reunification area.”

“We will continue to update social media as the investigation continues,” the department said in a tweet.

Fairfax County Public Schools says school officials are cooperating with police during the investigation.

“Out of an abundance of caution and at the direction of police, the school is currently evacuated,” FCPS said in a statement. “We continue to prioritize student and staff safety while police conduct their investigation.”

Fairfax High School was previously targeted by a bomb threat on Oct. 20. In that case, police confirmed that the threat was unfounded, and no students were present, since they had a day off for Diwali.

About the Author

  • Angela Woolsey is the site editor for FFXnow. A graduate of George Mason University, she worked as a general assignment reporter for the Fairfax County Times before joining Local News Now as the Tysons Reporter editor in 2020.