Former So. Terrebonne High student charged with bomb threat

Former South Terrebonne High School student Samantha Hymel, 20, of 802 Saadi St., Houma, was arrested Friday and charged with making one of two bomb threats against the school earlier in the week.

Hymel was a student at South Terrebonne during the 2006 school year, authorities said.

Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Capt. Malcolm Wolfe said Hymel was charged with communication of false information about planned arson after admitting to making the first threat last Monday afternoon.

The threat was phoned in through a Web site, where information can be typed and a computer voice message is generated. The message is then delivered to the selected phone number, Wolfe said.

After several subpoena attempts for the school’s phone records, authorities were able to track where the call originated.

“The subpoena gave us a phone number and further investigation gave us the computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) routing number. The process led us to Hymel,” Wolfe said.

Authorities said around 1:28 p.m. last Monday, a student worker in the main office answered the call and heard a pre-recorded message announcing a bomb was in the building. South Terrebonne Principal Kenneth Delcambre said the students and staff were immediately evacuated to the stadium.

“The call came in during fourth period. The students were evacuated and the authorities were alerted. The students and staff remained outside for 45 minutes until the end of the school day,” Delcambre said.

A second threat to the school was made Tuesday morning around 6:51 a.m., while many of the students were still on buses waiting to enter school.

“Again, the faculty was evacuated and the buses were detoured to the stadium where the students and faculty remained until 7:45 a.m. when the building was safe for re-entry,” Delcambre said.

After each threat officers found nothing out of the ordinary during the room-to-room searches of the school, authorities said.

Hymel has not been connected to the second threat, which is still under investigation, Wolfe said.

“I feel that this is a distasteful event that was aggravating to all involved. Two phone calls caused mass confusion at the school,” the principal said. “You never want to be in a situation like this, but the staff handled it very well. I just hope this is an eye-opener for the students.”

After the school was cleared on Monday, Delcambre and some of the faculty stayed late to escort students, who had returned to pick-up their personal belongings, through the school.

According to school records this is the first bomb threat at the school in eight years.

“If you let something like this go it’ll only open the door for more students to try it,” Delcambre said.