THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995            TAG: 9511160265
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Short :   38 lines

SCHOOL BOMB WAS HOAX; STUDENT TURNS HIMSELF IN

A ninth-grade student who said he was upset with his teachers has been charged with planting a fake bomb that forced the evacuation of Bayside High School Tuesday, police said.

The 16-year-old boy turned himself in at 3rd Precinct headquarters late Tuesday after watching news reports of the bomb squad destroying the device planted in a boys restroom.

``He apparently saw the news coverage and said he didn't realize the severity of what he had done,'' police spokesman Mike Carey said.

The boy was charged with making a hoax explosive device, a felony, and was released to his mother, Carey said. The student has been suspended and may later be expelled.

Because of the boy's age, police declined to release his name. They also declined to describe the device.

Carey did not know why the student was upset with teachers, but said the student had not been disciplined before the incident.

A janitor cleaning a first-floor restroom near the rear of the school Tuesday found the device behind a toilet. About 2,000 students and staff members were sent home an hour early because of the scare.

A bomb squad robot was used to carry the device outside, where it was destroyed.

Initially, police weren't certain if the package contained explosives and planned to send the remnants of the device to a state crime lab for analysis. However, in his confession to police, the student said the bomb was a hoax.

KEYWORDS: BOMB SCARES BOMB THREATS BAYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL by CNB