SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE SCARE AT GIDDINGS ISD

  

Authorities were called to a series of suspicious packages at the Giddings Intermediate Campus this (Wednesday) morning.

Giddings ISD staff members called the Giddings Police Department around 7:15 a.m., after noticing a suspicious package located between the gymnasium and the kitchen.  Giddings Police Chief Haril Walpole said officers arrived at the scene at 7:20 a.m. and located the package behind a dumpster, wrapped in “plain paper.”

Giddings units called the Austin Police Department Bomb Squad for consultation, and they confirmed the package was suspicious, from the description given.  Soon afterwards, units discovered five more of the packages stacked against the back of the building near the kitchen.

At that point, preparations were made to evacuate the immediate area up to Giddings High School, and to shut down the road behind the campus.  However, shortly after plans were made, authorities learned that a school employee had misplaced the packages while working.

The boxes, according to Assistant Superintendent Andrew Masek, were empty.  They were meant to be thrown into the dumpster, but were forgotten by the employee.

The all clear was given at 8:10 a.m.  Giddings ISD thanks the Giddings Police Department, as well as the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, for their quick response and service.