Police believe an angry parent threatened to blow up a teen counseling center Thursday.
State police have since given the all-clear at three Boys & Girls Village locations in Milford, Bridgeport and Norwalk after a bomb threat caused evacuations.
Over 80 students plus staff at Boys & Girls Village on Wheelers Farm Road in Milford were evacuated as a bomb squad searched the premises.
Police say the threat was a text from someone claiming to be a parent of a child who was denied admission into the facility. They say the threat was sent to the director of the Milford facility on Wheelers Farm Road. After searching the facility for a little more than an hour and a half, authorities gave the all-clear. Officials then went to the Bridgeport and Norwalk facilities.
Milford Police Officer Mike DeVito said, "We don't know if they were denied last week, yesterday, or within the last year. We're working on that right now. They said, 'If my child can't go there, then no child will be there. You'd better evacuate the building; it's going to get blown up.'"
Detectives are currently going through Boys & Girls Village records to see who was denied admission to try to narrow down who might have texted in the bomb threat.
Boys & Girls Village CEO Dr. Steve Kant released a statement, saying, "Boys & Girls Village (BGV) received a text message this morning warning that an explosive device had been placed at one of our facilities. Upon receipt of the threat, BGV staff immediately notified law enforcement and carried out a safe and orderly evacuation of its facilities. Law enforcement responded promptly and has declared all facilities clear of any threat. All Boys & Girls Village staff and students have returned safely and have resumed their normal daily activities Boys & Girls Village has a full range of procedures in place to safely respond to any threat to the well-being or security of the organization, its clients, staff or other associates. Those procedures were followed this morning. We also have on staff a former senior law enforcement officer who is responsible for ensuring that all of our procedures and protocols are up-to-date and can be quickly and effectively employed if needed. We would like to thank state and local law enforcement officials for their prompt, thorough and professional response to this incident. This incident is now in their hands for further investigation. Boys & Girls Village will have no further comment on this matter in order to best protect the privacy and security of our clients, parents and staff."