On Monday, May 23, students and faculty were rushed out of the school around 11:30 am due to a “suspicious device found on our campus” (according to an email from Assistant Principal Mr. Jonathan Bonner).

In the beginning, no one was worried because it was originally thought to be a drill, but soon after, rumors started to fly. It became obvious that it wasn’t a drill when students and staff were told to perform an Emergency Response Plan (ERP), which is an evacuation used to get students into a distanced safe area away from the threat, and were all moved to the football stadium. When walking to the stadium, students could see firetrucks, police cars, and even a Capital bomb squad truck parked at the front of the school. It wasn’t soon after that some people began to become scared or panicked.

Only a short time after the ERP was performed, it was said that the school was safe to re-enter. This began to raise questions about what actually happened. If it was an actual bomb threat, wouldn’t it take more time than that to evaluate?
Approximately 30 minutes after re-entering the building, a fire alarm went off at around 12:25. This made some students look at the bomb threat as if it were real and took the alarm as an “every man for themselves” situation and run out of their classrooms. It was less than a minute after the alarm went off that it was turned off, and everyone was told that it was a false alarm and to go back into their classrooms.
Sophomore Gabbi Pritchett said, “At first I thought it was a drill or something, but as soon as we got outside, I saw the trucks and how fast teachers were trying to get everyone out of the building, and I realized that it definitely wasn’t.” Pritchett went on to say how she couldn’t stop laughing when the fire alarm then went off only a few minutes later, “It seemed like something out of a crazy dream, it didn’t really seem real.”
After an already scary day, students were hoping (and assuming) that the series of events were finally over. This was not the case. At 12:57, the power went out for the first time, and then went out again around 1:40. For many students, this was the cherry on top for the eventful day.
An email by Principal John Gabriel was sent later that day at around 1:00, addressing the supposed bomb threat. “I want to briefly follow up on the evacuation of our school this morning. We evacuated by order of the fire marshal for approximately 30 minutes after a suspicious device was found on our campus.” This is the most information that was given about the day’s events. After way too many coincidental actions, many were fed up with the day and left school early.
By the time the power had gone out, rumors had already started to fly about what the bomb threat actually was. Some were saying it was a gas leak, others a bomb, a science experiment gone wrong, or even a rocket. Freshman Drew D’Amico said that he even heard a rumor about a kid not wanting to take the SOL that was happening that day and said that he put a bomb somewhere in the school to get out of it. “I’m sure it’s not true, but what’s crazy is how apparently that happened at Potomac Falls recently.” D’Amico is right. On June 1, Potomac Falls High School had a legitimate bomb threat, supposedly threatened by a student in an email to the school. “I’m not sure if that’s what happened here but who knows,” said D’Amico.
By the end of the day, students began to make a joke out of what had happened, posting made up pictures and jokes about the day. One based on the book series I Survived by Lauren Tarshis said “I Survived the Independence Bomb Threat.

Since then, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) has made an official statement, and Mr.Gabriel sent out an email addressing what actually happened. On Monday, May 23, it was confirmed and released that there was an “unapproved science experiment” on Independence High School property.