2 students arrested over Tri-Cities school bomb threat
Two Southridge High School students were searched and arrested Monday for making threats to bomb their school.
But Kennewick police say both students told them in separate interviews that they were “only joking.”
Both were placed on “emergency removal” status, according to a Kennewick School District spokesperson, meaning Southridge officials have up to 10 days to review the situation and determine disciplinary action.
A student at the school tipped off security and a school resource officer on Monday that they overheard another student talking about “having a bomb in their backpack and making threats to blow up the school,” according to police.
The student was interviewed about the claims, and school security searched their backpack and found no device.
“During this investigation it was determined a second student had also made threats to blow up the school. They were also contacted and searched by school security with no bomb found. This student also admitted to making the threats as a joke,” Kennewick police posted on Facebook.
The teens could be charged with a Class B felony for threatening to bomb a public facility.
Kennewick police said they take any threat “seriously and investigate each incident thoroughly.”
“Parents of students, please take this opportunity to discuss with your children the importance of not joking or making light of threats toward the safety of our school,” the department said. “As always we would encourage anyone if they see something to say something and report any threats to KPD so we can investigate.”
The incident comes just weeks after a student at nearby Kamiakin High School in Kennewick was arrested after an alleged plot to attack his school.
In that case, a pair of brothers in Florida saw the student’s plans in a TikTok video and alerted the FBI and police. The 14-year-old student is charged with attempted murder with a gun, 11 counts of gun possession and a threat to harm property after police seized a color-coded map of school targets and a manifesto, according to court documents.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 4:51 PM.
